Why ad approval is not legal protection
Section 230 shields ad platforms from liability, while FTC enforcement holds advertisers strictly responsible for deceptive ad claims.
Topic: Section 230
Doctor: Google’s AI Overview made up career-damaging claims about me
A UK doctor and YouTuber says Google AI falsely accused him of selling sick notes and being suspended. Is Google AI protected by Section 230?
Generative AI and defamation: What the new reputation threats look like
AI chatbots are changing how defamation spreads. Safeguarding credibility now means watching what AI says about you.
9 strategies for removing negative content from the web
Here are ways to remove webpages and online posts harmful to your brand – from privacy claims and copyright notices to legal measures.
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.
Businesses, users, experts defend big tech against algorithm lawsuits
The outcome of a Supreme Court case could have significant implications for how internet companies operate, content curation and free speech.
Reputation attack sites have plummeted in Google, but can still harm
Sites like Ripoff Report, Pissed Consumer and Complaints Board are still a danger for businesses and people with a low online presence. Here's what you can do to decrease the threat.
Congressional report blasts Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook as monopolistic ‘gatekeepers’ of the digital economy
Breaking up these companies will apparently be on the table.
7 reasons why you need to update your reputation management strategy in 2020
Whether repairing or proactively managing your reputation, prioritize a multi-pronged approach to build a positive impression for your online identity.
Verdict is in for CEO involved in forging court order over reputation attack
This case highlights the lack of protection and justice available for online defamation victims from Google and other tech companies.
Google’s reliance on Wikipedia makes it vulnerable to search pranks
Google said Wikipedia prank caused Republican "Nazism" Knowledge Panel.
CEO who forged court order to get Google to remove defamation faces prison
Contributor Chris Silver Smith tells the lamentable story of a sophisticated apparent reputation attack and a victimized company led to take desperate steps to recover.
US court orders Google not to comply with Canadian court’s order delisting search results
The US court agreed with Google that implementation of the Canadian court's ruling would violate US laws, including the right to free speech.
Paradigm shift: Has Google suspended defamation removals?
Columnist Chris Silver Smith takes a look at what could be a recent policy shift in Google's longstanding informal policy of granting court-ordered defamation removal requests.
Yahoo7 Australia Drops Ripoff Report From Search Results After Defamation Complaints
Yahoo7, the Australian version of Yahoo, has de-indexed Ripoff Report after receiving “significant complaints” about defamatory content showing in its search results. As you see above, a site:ripoffreport.com on Yahoo7 produces no results. A Yahoo7 spokesperson gave us this statement on the decision to de-index that entire domain: Yahoo7 has received significant complaints in regards […]
In Wake Of Penguin, Could You Be Sued For Linking To Others?
Many webmasters have been desperately trying to fix poor SEO work done to a site thanks to the recent Penguin update targeting webspam and the bad link warnings sent from Google. The only current way to discredit a link is to have it removed as reverse nofollow functionality for webmasters simply doesn’t exist. One recent example of a link removal request was particularly […]
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 […]
Yahoo Wins In Lawsuit Over Search Descriptions
Eric Goldman updated us on a case where Yahoo was sued for showing spam and porn pages for a search on a person’s name. Beverly Stayart was upset that when you searched for her name on Yahoo, Yahoo returned some results that were not to her liking. So she sued Yahoo but the court wouldn’t […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 14, 2009
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Employee Required To Hand Over AdWords Account Details We obtained documents on a court order, where the judge issued in the Jeremy Schoemaker case against a Google employee for trademark […]
Search Engines Do Not Have To Display All Ads Says Court
Eric Goldberg summarizes a court decision in Langdon v. Google (PDF) showing a court deciding how search engines do not have to display all ads. Langdon took Google to court to force Google to display ads that “attacked people.” Reportedly, Langdon is a complainer or griper and he wanted to use search ads to air […]