It wouldn’t be a Google I/O without a little bit of controversy. In the middle of today’s keynote, a plane started circling the amphitheater where Google holds its annual conference, towing a protest banner. “Google control is not privacy #savelocalnews,” the banner read.
That’s a first for Google. We’ve seen the occasional protests inside the venue, but mostly outside. With I/O happening in an outdoor space, the company opens itself up to this kind of protest and there’s really no way to stop it. There were also no flight restrictions for the airspace over the venue.
Google, of course, once flew blimps over I/O to show off Google Glass. Those were different times, though. Today, the plane continued to circle the venue throughout the keynote.
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