Comcast in middle of Oregon fight over taxes and censorship

Comcast has blocked versions of an advertisement backing a hike in Oregon’s corporate tax, which the cable giant opposes, from appearing on its video-on-demand service.

The versions that raised red flags specifically mention Comcast as one of the out-of-state corporations that would have to pay higher taxes as a result of Measure 97, which would raise income taxes on corporations across the state. New versions of all three advertisements initially flagged by Comcast are back on air and do not mention the cable giant, but the initial decision has rankled supporters of the tax. “It’s ridiculous. I’ve never experienced anything like this. It’s very unusual,” said John Coghlan, the consultant who bought ads for the measure. Coghland received an email from Comcast that the ads wouldn’t be allowed after he made the purchase on Comcast’s video-on-demand service. “The spot was flagged on our end and placed on HOLD while we escalate it for review for compliance with our guidelines,” the Comcast representative told Coghlan. Coghlan said the guidelines were never made available to the campaign. Comcast has donated $465,000 to the campaign against Measure 97.