It seems as though Google AdWords service has gotten them into a bit of trouble. As stated in a previous blog, Google AdWords is what appears first when you use their search engine. Companies create advertisements, and give them to Google to display on their search engine. Google has a complex algorithm that scans the page you are on, your search history, and combines it with your search query to determine which advertisements to display. It displays the ones it believes the user is most likely to click, and thus creates traffic for the advertiser and revenue for Google. Four of these advertisers used the names of their competitors as key words, so that when someone searches for their competitor, their advertisement appears. This was deemed by the court to be misleading to users and begged the question: is Google at fault or does all the responsibility lie with the advertisers.
Federal judges in Australia have made up their mind on that question. They believe Google is indeed at fault, saying, "It is Google’s technology which creates that which is displayed. Google did not merely repeat or pass on a statement by the advertiser: what is displayed in response to the user’s search query is not the equivalent of Google saying here is a statement by an advertiser which is passed on for what it is worth." They are basically saying that Google does not just pass along these advertisements. They have their algorithm which manipulates which ads get displayed, and thus are at least partially responsible for what the ad displays. As damages, Google will pay all costs of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission as well as set up a compliance program, aimed at making sure this doesn't continue to happen.
In this scenario, I could not agree more with the court. Google indirectly chooses which advertisements should be displayed and there is no way they can claim complete ignorance with regards to the content of the ad. They are more than just a middle man, and the Australian court has realized this and made the right decision.
Article: http://www.tgdaily.com/business-and-law-features/62517-google-found-guilty-of-serving-misleading-ads-in-australia
No comments:
Post a Comment