A Class Action Lawsuit For Everyone Upset With Their Google Ranking?
from the what-a-mess dept
It really was just a few weeks ago that we were writing about someone who had sued Google because he was unhappy with his ranking in the search engine. We had noted, at the time, that it wasn't the first time people had made such a claim. While the suit from earlier this month was dropped when it became clear the guy would not win, it appears not everyone has figured that out yet. Google is about to go back to court to defend against similar charges from another company. We had mentioned this lawsuit when it was first filed, and it appears they're throwing every possible charge they can think of against the wall to see what sticks. In this case, it wasn't just a bad ranking, but the fact that the site had been totally removed from Google's index, after Google determined it was too aggressive in trying to shimmy up the list.Among the charges they're making against Google: this is a violation of free speech (no, seriously), Google is using a monopoly position to harm competitors, it's defamation or libel to remove someone from the index and it violates the Federal Communications Act. All four of these claims are pretty weak, so it seems like this case is unlikely to go very far. However, to make it even more fun, they're trying to get it turned into a class action lawsuit, so that anyone who feels they've been unfairly ranked by Google can join in. Of course, with all these charges and the class action attempt, it certainly sounds like the lawyers are just trying to come up with as much stuff as possible to hope that Google will just settle and they'll get something out of it all. In response to the charges, Google correctly notes that if anyone's free speech is violated, it would be Google's for not being able to rank sites as the company saw fit. How hard is it for companies to recognize that a Google ranking is not an objective fact, and just because you don't like your ranking it doesn't mean you can sue? More importantly, it's just bad business for any company to rely on a single source for most of its business. In this case, the company complains that the bad ranking was damaging, since so much of their traffic came from Google. It's hard to see how it's Google's fault that this company didn't learn how to generate leads and traffic from other sources.
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civil legal system out of control
You need to look closely at this. It sems there are far too many lawyers in the USA.
How about a national no-sue day. Then try it for a month. If everybody agrees not to sue anybody else those leeches will all be out of work. Maybe they'll get proper jobs. Then perhaps the cost of sueing people frivolously will become very high and less people will do it.(?) You could start a virtuous circle of legal disarmament quite easily if you stopped being so aggressive towards one another.
* I should to be very careful not to offend any sensitive reactionaries, but I'll be blunt, I'm not in the business of avoiding offence or pussying about, if you have a problem it's in your inferrence rather than my implication. Last time I visited USA I found you all very good chaps and the countryside was lovely.
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What if...
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To heck with ...
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Re: What if...
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Got Google?
They should make up a law or something that if someone keeps making frivolous law suits then, they shouldn't be able to ever sue again!!! I am pretty sure there is a statistic out there on how much money and time is wasted in courts fighting nonsense lawsuits!
Heh, the world is coming to an end as we know it!
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http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=stupid+lawsuits&btnG=Google+Search
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Re: civil legal system out of control
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n00bs
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Sing me up!!
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This is a good point but in this case there is a problem, I just take Holland as an example. 95% of the students are using Google so in some cases you really depend on google because there is simply no other cheap way next to msn messenger to reach this audiance so targeted.
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Sue and be damned
Alas, progress took hold and the microwave oven came into being. The woman purchased one and it was duly installed. Come Thursday, pooch was bathed as per usual, towel dried and, yes you’ve guessed it, popped into the microwave to be finished off.
She sued the manufacturer for failing to include any warning in their manual that it was not suitable to place living beings into the device. She won…..with substantial damages…..and there was born the litigant society that we know today…..
It is an unfortunate fact of life that there will always be some numbskull around who will blame others for their misery and bad luck rather than look to themselves for the culprit. I have no doubt that God has a whole raft of cases lined up against him by those passing St Peter at the Pearly Gates…..
Still, it keeps lawyers employed and provides endless dinner party anecdotes so who are we to complain. Frankly, if I were Google, I would say sue and be damned!!
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sue them back!!
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Depending on google
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Re:
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Frivolous lawsiuts
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I must admit
Am I feeding the Google craze? Probably. But I know a few people who do work for Google and my understanding is that the ranking is usuall money-fed. The more money you pay, the higher the rank. Now when it comes to outright discrimination or anything extreme that could be deemed libel. I feel it is, in the end, Google's right to alter the rankings. In any other company ANY sort of discrimination or defamation would be untolerated. Those who feel the need to discriminate, defame, slander or hurt other should be fine with the fact that their site comes up at all.
Now I am definately not saying that it is right to restrict our freedom of speech, and I do not think that is what they are doing. As I said before, those who feel the need to defame, discriminate, slander or whatever should be happy with the fact the their site is up at all.
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We need a Google-off
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OMGOOSES
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http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/micropet.htm
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Search Engine Optimization
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Response to Guy
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Re: Sue and be damned
Now if you excuse me I have to go take a rusty hook off of my door handle before my stomach explodes from the pop rocks and soda that I just drank.
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Dog & microwave
Still...my point stands....
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Google Suit
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Dog & Oven
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Re: n00bs
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WTF? Google lawsuit
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Re: Dog & Oven
Snopes.com is pretty darned credible in the urban legend biz. I want you to know that I'm only posting to reiterate the earlier comment that you are, in fact, a fool.
On the other hand, I am reading your comments on the net, so maybe your advice wasn't so bad after all...
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Google is unfair
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