Defamation class action against Google
Google is set to face a massive global class action by parties who say they have suffered as a result of the search giant.
It is claimed that Google acts as a ‘defamatory intermediary’ by allowing searchers to discover libelous and damaging pages that can influence people’s opinions of businesses and people, thus causing them financial injury and personal stress.
In Australia Two Victorian real estate agents have launched a defamation action alleging they have been defamed by articles found via Google searches.
The articles discovered by Googling claim that a Mr Forytarz bullied an intellectually disabled man into selling his home in order to claim a commission of at least $200,000.
It is claimed the article paints Mr Forytarz as unscrupulous and unethical and he suffered distress embarrassment and humiliation as a result.
In another instance another article trawled up by Google alleges a Mr Castran used dummy bidders to inflate the prices of the properties he sold.
These are just two instances in a groundswell on actions including moves by nations, including China in their bid to protect their citizens from the personal stress caused by the discovery of what the Chinese call faked images of Tiananmen Square.
Others include Dotworlds
One lawyer representing claimants says the ability of Google to drill so deeply into records means it is wide open to abuse.
“Nothing is sacred anymore, Google is too good at finding things and not all of them are true,” said Don Fitzpatrick, a lawyer with Fitzpatrick and Fitzpatrick who is a defamation expert.
“Just as a newspaper is liable for publishing untruths, so is Google.
“Mind you, Yahoo and Microsoft, their results are so poor and have such a small market share, that they are almost too small a fish to bother catching,” he said.
It is believed that cases from just about every country in the world (with the exception of the USA where Google is protected by section 230 of the Communications Act and the 1st and 5th Amendments), are being assembled under the huge class action.
“Google may be damaged by its own goodness, but them’s the breaks,” said Fitzpatrick.
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