Google to pay $500 to Canadian for misleading information about him

A Montreal, Canadian resident tried for years to sue Google for search results containing links to a defamatory post falsely accusing him of being a pedophile, which the Canadian says ruined his career. Now Google must pay $500 after a Quebec Supreme Court judge ruled that Google relied on a "mistaken" interpretation of Canadian law and denied the man's requests to remove links. The publication told more about the ups and downs Ars Technica.

Photo: IStock

“Google ignored the plaintiff in various ways, argued that it could not do anything, said that it could remove the hyperlink in the Canadian version of its search engine, but not in the American one. Then allowed her to reappear in the Canadian version,” Judge Azimuddin Hussain wrote in his March 28 decision.

The plaintiff was granted anonymity throughout the trial. Google was told not to release any identifying information about him in connection with the case for 45 days.

The company must remove all links to the defamatory post in search results viewable in Quebec.

On the subject: Google the right way: how to quickly find everything you need on Google

Described in the judge's ruling as a "famous businessman" not only in the United States but also in Canada who was once at the "top of the commercial real estate world," the man discovered the defamatory publication in April 2007 when he "googled" himself after how several clients refused to do business after a series of good meetings.

He discovered that the RipoffReport.com website published a report in April 2006 falsely claiming he was a fraudster and "convicted of child molestation in 1984". The founder of this website, responding to emails, refused to delete the post, noting that he never deletes posts, and asked the man to provide evidence that he had never been charged with a crime.

The man then learned that it was too late to sue the RipOffReport post. In Canada, as noted in the judge's ruling, "the claim must be filed within one year of the link/post being posted, regardless of when the victim sees the post."

Unable to delete the post online, the man turned to Google to at least make it less discoverable. For years, Google has been going back and forth, sometimes honoring takedown requests and sometimes refusing them, and the links keep popping up again. Friends of the man testified that he lost the business due to confusion when potential clients googled his name, and one of his sons had to distance himself from his father because he worked in real estate.

When the man sued, Google first argued that under Section 230 of the U.S. Communications Decency Act, the company was not responsible for third-party content and was not required to remove links. Pointing to a free trade agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico, Google suggested that a Quebec law requiring companies to remove illegal content as soon as they become aware of its existence would not apply in part because it violates Section 230.

Judge Hussain disagreed with Google's logic, but he also did not rate the punitive damages as high as the plaintiff wanted, as Google refused to remove the links "in the good faith belief" that it was legally allowed to ignore the person's requests.

However, while this particular case was on the plaintiff's side, Hussain said it would probably not generate many similar cases forcing Google to remove links, writing in his decision: "This case raises unprecedented questions in Quebec law about the liability of such a company, like Google, which provides Internet search services, for providing users of its search engine with a defamatory Internet posting made by a third party that appeared on the site of another third party, although it is notified that it facilitates access to illegal activities, namely to defamatory content. However, the court's finding in this ruling on Google's liability does not open the floodgates for claims against the company or other Internet intermediaries."

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York

Instead of $6 million in compensatory and punitive damages originally claimed, a man was awarded $500 for non-pecuniary damages after he successfully proved he lost business deals and experienced difficulties in his personal relationships due to being wrongly labeled a pedophile. .

Hussain described the plaintiff's experience fighting Google to maintain his reputation as a "waking nightmare." With Google's refusal to remove the slanderous posts, this man "fell helpless in today's surreal and harrowing online environment as he went through a dark odyssey to remove the slanderous post from public circulation," Hussain wrote.

The plaintiff, now in his 70s, has the option to appeal the judge's ruling that Google cannot release any information that identifies him for 45 days.

Read also on ForumDaily:

How to Get to the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles: Directions and Useful Tips

Deadline is approaching: what to do if you can't pay your taxes on time

How airlines set airfare prices and how to buy them cheap

How to choose an immigration lawyer and avoid fraud

Montana has its own 'Great Wall of China': where did it come from and how to visit it

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.