Google Found Guilty of Libel For Search Results In Australia 223
Meshach writes "Google has been found guilty for refusing to take down a libelous search result in an Australian court (ruling). Music promoter Milorad Trkulja sued Google for refusing to take down links to website articles promoting libelous claims that Trkulja was connected to organized crime in Melbourne. Google told Trkulja to contact the sites on which the offensive materials were posted, as those webmasters controlled the content. But the Supreme Court of Victoria decided Google was responsible for removing the damaging links the moment Trkulja asked them to remove the content. As a result of the jury's decision in the case, Google will have to pay $200,000 in damages to Trkulja."
Re:Austrailia != Free Country (Score:5, Interesting)
THAT is who you should sue or prosecute.
Sometimes that is quite difficult, for example, they might be in Pakistan or Nairobi or Russia. But without Google, pretty much nobody would find their page. Google does play a role here, they aren't the innocent bystanders they are making themselves out to be.
I don't think they should pay damages for the libel. I do think it should be possible to force them to remove search results, via the proper legal channels, i.e. a court order. Google is not above the law.