What if you were held accountable for your AI slop?
A ruling against Google signals a broader shift: companies may be responsible for AI-generated errors, even when humans didn't write them.
Topic: Liability
Google can be directly liable for false AI Overview claims: German court
The injunction targets AI-generated accusations that tied two publishers to scams despite no support in the linked pages.
Google Ads updates terms of service ahead of July 2026 rollout
Google's updated Ads terms expand its use of AI-driven automation, raising advertiser concerns about reduced control and ownership.
Facebook can be sued over biased ad algorithm claims, court rules
The California State Court of Appeals reversed a decision made in 2020 that stated Facebook was protected from legal action under Section 230.
EU copyright directive poised to become law, includes licensing fees for search engines
Controversial 'link tax' and content filtering provisions part of the final language of the Directive.
German court: Google has no ‘duty to inspect’ websites for illegal content before displaying
The court held that Google can't be held liable before being notified of a 'clearly recognizable violation' of individual rights.
European court says linking to illegal content is copyright infringement
The facts of the present case were egregious but the law created by the court is bad for the internet.
Google Settles UK “Defamation” Suit, Agreeing To Remove Malicious Links
Google has long maintained it’s not responsible for third party content in its index. And that’s the law in the US. However increasingly in Europe authorities and individuals are seeking to make Google legally responsible for the content in its search results. The latest example comes in the form of a legal settlement in a UK […]
Lawyers Sue SEO Firm For Violating Google Guidelines
A law firm in Michigan, Seikaly & Stewart, is suing its former SEO provider — but not for a lack of ranking success. Rather, the firm is getting sued for allegedly using “spammy” techniques violating Google’s guidelines. That comes via Eric Goldman. The defendant Rainmaker Institute, which specializes in online marketing services for the legal profession, is accused […]
German Court Says Google Must Block Libelous Words Added Via Autocomplete Function
In a surprising turn of events, Germany’s top civil court overturned two lower court rulings on a case involving Google’s autocomplete function. According to the ruling, it is Google’s responsibility to block libelous words that appear next to a name via the autocomplete function if Google has been alerted to the defamatory words. The plaintiff […]
Google Wins Lawsuit Over Monetizing Your Name With Ads
Google has won a lawsuit filed by Wisconsin woman, Beverly Stayart, over Google Instant suggestions leading to a search result set that had ads. Beverly Stayart claimed Google suggested a search query phrase for the term [Bev Stayart levitra]. When you landed on that page of search results, Google would show search ads for Levitra […]
Australia’s Highest Court Relieves Google Of Liability For “Deceptive” Search Ads
Yesterday, Australia’s highest judicial body, called The High Court of Australia, overturned a lower court decision that held Google responsible for paid-search ads deemed deceptive by Australia’s antitrust regulator, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC). According to Bloomberg, roughly six years ago the ACCC sued Google claiming that certain travel-related ads appearing in search […]
Australian Court Finds Google Responsible For Misleading Ads Placed By Its Advertisers
A Federal Appeals Court in Australia has found Google responsible for misleading ads that displayed when users searched for certain terms and received ads from competitors who had bid on those terms. The ruling, though it only applies in Australia, is important because one of Google’s most central beliefs — which has come up in […]
Australian Watchdog Loses Case Against Google Over Deceptive Ads
ACCC loses misleading ads case against Google via the Sydney Morning Herald reports the ACCC, Australian Competition and Consumers Commission, has lost their has in an Australian Federal court against Google. The watchdog group sued Google over deceptive ads back in 2007. The federal judge, Justice John Nicholas dismissed the case saying the Google was […]
Court Says No, You Can’t Sue Google For Bad Walking Directions
Remember the woman in Utah who used Google Maps’ walking directions, was hit by a car and sued? The case is Rosenberg v. Harwood and Google was successful in getting almost all the claims against the company dismissed last week. When last we left our story the plaintiff, Lauren Rosenberg, was walking from 96 Daly […]
Irish Hotel Sues Google For Defamation Over Autocomplete Suggestion
A popular Irish hotel has sued Google for defamation because Google’s autocomplete feature suggests to searchers that the hotel is in receivership. Searchers looking for the Ballymascanlon Hotel — a four-star property that’s reportedly one of the most popular wedding venues in northeast Ireland and is not in financial trouble — see “ballymascanlon hotel receivership” […]
Google Fails To Sway Indian Government On Web Content Restrictions
The Indian government has enacted tough restrictions on Internet content and publishers, ignoring objections detailed by Google in a confidential memo earlier this year. According to the Wall Street Journal, the new rules in India place what appears to be a heavy burden on websites to ban users from publishing certain types of content and […]
Italians Issue Another Dubious Anti-Search Decision
Earlier this year the Italian Communications Authority decided that YouTube was effectively a TV broadcaster and imposed the same rules and restrictions that apply to TV in Italy — and potential penalties for their violation — on Google. It said that Google is now legally responsible for any content appearing on YouTube. Now an Italian […]
SEO Held Liable, Fined In Counterfeiting Case
A website builder and SEO firm has been held liable in federal court in a case in which it was accused of enabling the sale of counterfeit goods. Bright Builders faces a $770,000 fine for damages in the judgment, handed down in U.S. District Court in South Carolina last week, while its client was only […]
Italy To Regulate YouTube & Other Video Sites Like TV Stations
YouTube, and parent Google, are now to be considered TV broadcasters in Italy according to new rules handed down by the Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM). The rules apply equally to other sites providing video content over the internet provided they’re also running advertising. According to a translated version of an article appearing in the Italian […]
Google Wins YouTube Copyright Case In Spain
Google says that it’s won a copyright infringement case in Spain over the uploading of copyrighted videos by YouTube users. Telecinco, a Spanish broadcast TV channel, had argued that YouTube is responsible when its users upload videos that infringed on the channel’s copyrights. According to Google’s blog post about the legal decision: The court rejected […]
Google Claims Victory In French Supreme Court Keyword Trademark Case
Google wrote that they were victorious in a ruling today by the French Supreme Court over trademark infringement charges brought to them by three companies. But not everyone agrees that Google was indeed the winner here. Google wrote: Today, the French Supreme Court was unequivocal in their rulings and anyone who reads them will be […]
Attorney In Google Maps Lawsuit: It Was Dark; She Thought Google Was Leading Her To Sidewalk
I’ve spoken to the lead attorney in the case involving the woman who blames Google, in part, for directing her onto a highway where she was struck by a vehicle. Expressing amazement at the “firestorm” of attention the case has garnered, he explained some of the reasoning putting some of the blame on Google. Our […]
Woman Follows Google Maps “Walking” Directions, Gets Hit, Sues
Is Google responsible for giving out bad directions through its Google Maps service? We’re about to find out. After Googling walking directions for a trip in Park City, Utah, Lauren Rosenberg claims she was led onto a busy highway, where she was struck by a vehicle. She’s now suing Google for damages. The case, Rosenberg […]
Google Fined In Brazillian “Pedophile” Defamation Case Tied To Orkut
For the second time in the past few months Google has been punished by a court outside the US for content posted by users on one of its owned and operated sites. In February an Italian court imposed a criminal privacy conviction on Google executives for the appearance of a video, showing the bullying of […]
Google Execs Looking At Potential Jail Time If Convicted In Italian Privacy Case
Right now there’s a court case in Italy that involves Google executives, who are being tried for violating Italian privacy laws. The case illustrates international conflicts of law issues and challenges for companies doing business (via the internet) in multiple nations with differing cultures and corresponding legal rules. In a less serious way Google has […]
Website Guilty Over Google’s Automated Snippet
The Register reports a Dutch court has ruled against a Dutch web site, where the web site was sued over the automated snippet used in Google for a keyword phrase. When someone searched for [Zwartepoorte] and [bankrupt], Google showed Miljoenhuizen.nl and the snippet in the Google search results for Miljoenhuizen.nl was: Complete name: Zwartepoorte Specialiteit: […]
Court Rules Google Not Liable For Bad Products Sold Through AdWords
Feel like you got defrauded by someone who lured you to their site through an ad on Google? Don’t expect that you’ll be able to go after Google itself for running the ad. A US federal court ruled that Google wasn’t liable in a case involving ringtones, which would also seem applicable to any type […]
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Veoh Decision Good News For Google, Potentially Bad News For Viacom In YouTube Litigation
Online video destination Voeh Networks was sued in 2006 for copyright infringement by IO Group (an adult video producer). The facts in the case and claims are generally similar to those of Viacom vs. YouTube. Yesterday a federal District Court judge in California issued a ruling that, barring an appeal by IO, vindicates Veoh and […]
Google Sued For “Fraudulent Mobile Subscription Services”
Eric Goldman has posted about yet another lawsuit against Google. This time the plaintiffs were allegedly wronged in a case involving mobile subscription services. Google is not the alleged wrongdoer here, but is being sued because it allowed the wrongdoer to advertise (AdWords) and the plaintiffs got to the bad actor via those ads.
Google Sued In UK For Defamatory Postings In Search Results
Google sued over defamatory postings found on web search from The Independent reports that the company could be held liable for the publication of inaccurate, malicious or damaging material on the internet, even though Google did not create the content and is simply listing what’s found on the web. The plaintiff, Brian Retkin, claims he […]
Court: Google Suggest Feature Not Responsible For Encouraging Software Piracy
Belgian company loses lawsuit against Google from IT World reports that Google has won a suit brought against them by ServersCheck, a Belgian company. The company complained that the Google Suggest feature was helping people find pirated versions of its software.