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Google Loses Autocomplete Defamation Case

Posted by timothy on from the why-italy-and-google-shouldn't-date dept.

superglaze writes "Google has been found liable in an Italian court for defamatory comments made against an anonymous plaintiff — the complainant's name, when googled, elicited autocomplete suggestions that translate as 'con man' and 'fraud.' Google was found not to qualify for EU 'safe harbour' protection because the autocomplete suggestions were deemed to be Google's own creation, and not something merely passing through its systems."

1 of 258 comments (clear)

  1. Poor cop-out by frinkster · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Google defended themselves by saying that they shouldn't be held responsible for the output of an algorithm that they created. That's weak.

    They should have said "Crap, we screwed up. We'll fix it right away." No judge or jury would think that Google did it on purpose. But with a response like this, they are sure to think that Google doesn't care.