UK Edition
Wine lovers cannot buy Burgundy tipple on Google as internet giant cracks down on 'gun' searches
Wine lovers can no longer purchase their favourite Burgundy tipple using Google’s Shopping service after the internet giant cracked down on search queries featuring the term 'gun'.
Google Shopping, which allows users to compare product prices from thousands of online retailers, has removed all 'gun' search results - even if the product is not gun-related.
Online shoppers have complained about being unable to browse dozens of products such as Burgundy wine, water guns and music by American rock band Guns N' Roses.
Searches for products including nail guns, glue guns and Arsenal Football Club’s Gunnersaurus dinosaur mascot also returns the message: “Your search did not match any shopping results.”
Google has banned weapons listings since 2012, however online shoppers have highlighted certain product unavailability since the Florida school shooting on Valentine’s Day which left 17 dead.
One Twitter user from Florida complained: “You can’t shop for anything ‘burgundy’ on Google shopping because it contains the word ‘gun’. Google any explanation?”
Another disappointed user left unable to browse Guns N' Roses CDs grumbled: “Looks like I can't buy any good music either.”
While search results for 'gun' do not appear in Google’s Shopping tab, they still appear on Google’s main search page.
A spokesperson for Google said it was looking into the issue of products featuring 'gun' being removed its Shopping search results.
“We actually banned weapons related listings on Google Shopping as far back as 2012,” the spokesperson told The Telegraph.
Google added it has a “strict policy” enforced globally against sales of guns and functional parts.
The company’s official policy for retailers states: “We don’t allow the promotion of some products that cause damage, harm, or injury.”
Sporting or recreational guns, firecrackers, paintball or BB guns, combat knives and pepper spray feature on Google’s list of banned products.