Google faces landmark lawsuit over sponsored links Google faces landmark lawsuit over sponsored links

Google faces landmark lawsuit over sponsored links:

A consumer watchdog is taking legal action against Google over the way it sells and displays its sponsored links, in a case that could "send shudders down the industry".

The case stems from 2005 when Trading Post, an Australian classified ads magazine, took out sponsored links in the name of two car dealerships from Newcastle, New South Wales. People clicking on the names of the dealerships found themselves on Trading Post’s website.

Interesting case, even if it is in Australia. Trading Post apparently used Google sponsored ads to misdirect people looking for the car dealerships to its, presumably competing, web site. Web sites have been trying to do this for a long time via regular search results by including the name of the product or service they want to steal from somehow on their web pages - and the search engines go out of their way to try to police that. But in this case, Google was taking money for it, and is therefore presumably somewhat culpable.