Stagecoach chief seeks answers after Google erases site from search results
Brian Souter, the Perth based businessman behind the Stagecoach transportation empire, is hitting out at Google after his personal website was removed from their search engine.
www.briansouter.com has disappeared entirely from the search firms rankings even though it was previously well ranked and remains highly placed on rival search sites such as Bing and Yahoo.
Believing his site has been deliberately de-listed Souter is seeking answers, alleging that his case represents Google’s manipulation of the web and restrictions on free speech.
Souter’s media adviser, Gordon Beattie said: "It's not Google's place to decide which sites we can see and those we can't. It amounts to search engine censorship and it does not afford what Google says it is striving to create — 'a good user experience.'
"We wrote to Google on August 22 asking why Sir Brian's site was no longer listed on the search engine and the mumbled response was algorithm changes. They suggested one tweak to the website, which we immediately made, but to this day his site remains out of bounds on Google searches.
"We find it unacceptable that Google can simply remove an information site like Sir Brian's from its listings and give no helpful information as to why it has disappeared. We are now asking the question: 'Is it time legislation was enacted to curb Google's power over free speech on the internet?'