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'Google must be sued for illegal move against Iranian news channels'

Monday, 22 April 2019 9:32 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 27 April 2019 11:58 AM ]

In this file photo taken on September 2, 2015 the Google logo is displayed at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, US. (By AFP)

A commentator has described as “unconstitutional” Google’s latest attack on YouTube and Gmail accounts of Iranian news channels, saying legal action must be taken against the tech giant for breaching media freedom.

In an interview with Press TV, Robert Fantina, an author, activist and journalist, said Google has violated freedom of the press – a principle “enshrined in the US Constitution” -- by blocking Press TV and Hispan TV's access to their accounts on the US-based company’s platforms, including YouTube and Gmail.

“Google needs to be sued in US courts to find out why they have done this and to show that this action is unconstitutional,” the analyst added.

Fantina noted that US-based firms are acting in line with the government’s policy and advancing its causes.

“As these independent news outlets are stifled and are silenced, the people of the United States will only hear what the US government approves them to hear,” he said.

In similar comments, David William Pear, a political columnist, told Press TV that American tech companies work hand in glove with the government, and that both sides “cooperate with each other for their mutual benefit.”

Such a policy, he said, “is not to the benefit of the US public because if they can do this to you (Press TV), they can do it to anybody.”