Google Cannot Use Blame Game In German Lawsuit

February 28, 2014

Google tends to play the innocent when people challenge the company for displaying results with lewd or inappropriate content. After all, Google simply catalogs Internet content and it can’t be held responsible for what others make, right? Wrong says “Google Loses Big In German Reputation Lawsuit” published in Search Engine Journal. Google has been sued before and played this defense. Logically it makes sense, but Google, as the article suggests, is partially responsible. Google’s algorithms rank pages in search results and the company has control over how the search engines works and how it delivers result.

The German case deals with a man who sued Google to remove detrimental photos from search results. He won suits to keep the photos from publication, yet they still appear on the Web. The judge ruled in the defendant’s favor. The article explains that this might set a precedent for Google, but:

“The target of this particular lawsuit suggests in an interview that lawsuits could help to solve this responsibility problem. In essence, he suggests that only people who have completed court cases should be able to remove their photos from Google. It seems smart, but again, I have some concerns. Lawsuits like this are very expensive, and not everyone has the money to hire a lawyer and take time away from work in order to appear in court. Similarly, court cases take months or years to resolve, and they generate a lot of web interest. As a result, people who file often find that their problems are magnified as the case moves forward, and they suddenly have much MORE data to remove.”

Hurdles aside, if someone has the time, money, and patience what is to keep them from suing Google. I can imagine an entire department at Google dedicated to controlling data removal from search results. Brin and Page are probably worrying at this moment.

Whitney Grace, February 28, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Google, Legal matters, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.