Police was called by Google and protesters have already been arrested

Jun 25, 2014 07:31 GMT  ·  By

There are plenty of hours to go before the Google I/O conference kicks off this year, but there are already people gearing to protest the company.

While some are hoping to attract attention to the rising income inequality in San Francisco, others want Google to fight more for net neutrality.

Even though this isn’t the only company in Silicon Valley, Google has taken the brunt of the protests from angry citizens that are unhappy with the way things are going in San Francisco. In the past few months, the company’s shuttle buses have been targeted by these people, stopped in the streets and often defaced, even after Google agreed to pay for the use of the public transport stops.

On the other hand, the Occupy Google movement has also kicked off, hoping to attract attention to the growing problem of net neutrality, which is currently being threatened by ISPs because of weak rules from the FCC.

Why exactly they’re targeting Google is a bit of a mystery since the company doesn’t dictate what happens in the market (the FCC does) and they have in fact protested against the creation of an Internet fast lane that is planned by the Federal Communications Commission.

However, protesters point out that back in 2012, it was Google that created a petition to campaign against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) that gathered some 7 million signatures, which eventually helped stop the two bills from becoming a reality.

“Though Google and other major companies such as Netflix, Amazon and Microsoft have come out in support of preserving a free and open web, we believe much more can be done. Though many of us have concerns about the larger implications of Google's effect on the world, as far as surveillance and ties to military technology, we are not here to protest Google,” a page dedicated to the Occupy Google movement explains.

They do, however, want Google to take an even stronger position against the ISPs and help protect net neutrality.

Some people have already gathered in front of the Google HQ, which the company didn’t really take kindly. According to a Twitter account for the movement, Google has threatened to remove the protest encampment and security has already intervened, while the police was called. It seems that arrests have already been made since people refused to leave the grounds by the time imposed by the police.