Congress asked to move against anti-Christian discrimination by Google

Congress is being asked to move against the blatant anti-Christian discrimination embedded in the Google universe of online components.

It is the American Center for Law and Justice that has written to Rep. Jim Jordan, chief of the House Committee on the Judiciary, asking him for a review of Google’s agenda, hearings on the discrimination, and more.

“We respectfully urge the committee to investigate Google and TikTok’s religious content advertising policies and their application. We also suggest that the committee promptly hold hearings regarding these restrictions so that solutions can be found to ensure that the digital marketplace remains open to those with religious beliefs and viewpoints,” the letter charges.

“The systematic suppression of Christian content—particularly family-friendly content designed for children— represents a serious threat to religious liberty in the digital age. American families deserve a level playing field where faith-based and secular content compete on merit, not platform bias.”

The letter explained, “The cumulative effect of policies that systematically disadvantage religious expression—whether through ad restrictions, content moderation, or algorithmic suppression—creates barriers to religious exercise in the digital public square. When religious organizations cannot reach their audiences through the dominant communication channels of modern society, religious liberty suffers.”

The ACLJ said it is acting on behalf of client TruPlay Games, a Christian digital media company that provides Bible-based gaming content for children.

Detailed in the letter are multiple situations in which TruPlay has faced anti-Christian discrimination from Google and TikTok, and those actions call “for an immediate congressional investigation into these platforms’ religious content advertising policies.”

For example, the software companies “systematically reject advertisements for Christian children’s content while allowing secular content to advertise without restriction.”

TruPlay’s games have no violence, sexual or objectionable content, “Yet since 2023, Google has rejected dozens of TruPlay’s advertisements under a policy labeled ‘Religious belief in personalized advertising.'”

“Google applies this policy to reject advertisements simply because they contain religious content. TruPlay’s ads target general demographics like parents and families – not audiences selected based on religious belief. Yet advertisements with messaging such as ‘Christian Games for Kids’ and ‘Safe Bible Games for Kids’ have all been systematically blocked.”

TikTok, in fact, rejected one ad simply because it contained the word, “church.”

“The double standard is clear: Secular children’s content advertises freely while Christian content is systematically blocked,” the ACLJ charged.

“In another instance, TikTok even refused to allow TruPlay to run ads if TruPlay included a cartoon image of Jesus on the cross as one of the Apple App Store preview pictures, regardless of the content of any particular advertisement. Simply having a picture of Jesus was enough to ban advertisements. After multiple ad rejections, TikTok escalated its enforcement by permanently suspending TruPlay’s advertising account, citing alleged ‘repeated violations’ of its advertising policies. This escalation occurred despite TruPlay’s efforts to modify ad language, remove flagged terms, and comply with platform guidance. The permanent suspension effectively bars TruPlay from advertising on one of the largest digital platforms used by parents and families, solely because TruPlay’s content is openly Christian,” the letter explains.

Google and TikTok even demanded payment for ads in advance, then refused to run the ads, and kept the money.