Doctor Alleges Google's Autocomplete Defames Him
An Australian doctor has sued Google for allegedly defaming him with its autocomplete feature.
Cancer surgeon Guy Hingston of Port Macquarie, New South Wales, says in his legal papers that Google automatically suggests the phrase "Guy Hingston bankrupt" when users start typing his name into the query box. He says the suggested search term appears after people enter "Guy Hin..."
"Dr. Hingston is not bankrupt," the complaint alleges in a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California. "Dr. Hingston has lost a number of patients and financiers who are refusing to associate and/or deal with Dr. Hingston as a consequence of the reference on Google to a bankruptcy."
But he also said in a Dec. 14 letter to Google -- which was attached to his complaint -- that the results associated with the phrase "Guy Hingston bankruptcy" take users to articles about Eclipse Aviation. That company filed for bankruptcy in federal court in Delaware. Court records for that case list Guy Hingston of Port Macquarie, New South Wales -- and a company he owned, CoastJet Aircraft -- as among the creditors.
Given that Hingston appears to have been involved in a bankruptcy, he likely faces an uphill battle in the case.
This lawsuit isn't the first time that Google has faced a complaint for its autocomplete feature.
In September, Bettina Wulff -- the wife of former German president Christian Wulff -- reportedly sued Google for allegedly showing the phrases "Bettina Wulff prostitute" and "Bettina Wulff escort" when people began typing her name into the query box.
Last year, Google lost a lawsuit in Italy that involved allegedly defamatory autocomplete suggestions.
But no U.S. courts appear to have ruled that the autocomplete feature can in itself be defamatory.
Recent Online Media Daily Articles
-
Coca-Cola Loses Bid To Dismiss Text-Spam Case May 24, 5:41 p.m.
Consumers can proceed with a lawsuit against Coca-Cola for allegedly sending them unwanted SMS messages, a ... -
Disaster Ready: Google Maps Model Quickly Adjusts To Events May 24, 5:29 p.m.
The four-lane bridge in Washington state that partially collapsed Thursday into the Skagit River was removed ... -
Pandora Beats Rev Estimates, Adds Subscribers May 24, 5:01 p.m.
Online radio service Pandora on Thursday reported that revenue rose 55% in the first quarter to $126 ... -
Real-Time Web Turns Consumers Into Impulse Buyers May 24, 4:37 p.m.
Video, mobile, social, and better search capabilities continue to make it easy for consumers to buy ... -
Mugnier Shares M&C Saatchi's Mobile Approach May 24, 4:32 p.m.
M&C Saatchi Mobile was formed three years ago through the acquisition of mobile marketing agency Inside ... -
Yahoo Search Experiments With New Look May 23, 6:30 p.m.
Yahoo Search has been experimenting with colors, features and layouts, as the company tries to determine ... -
Path Seeks Dismissal Of Wireless-Spam Case May 23, 5:07 p.m.
Mobile social network Path is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the ... -
Amazon Appstore Goes Global May 23, 4:59 p.m.
Amazon may have been late to the app store game, but that hasn’t stopped it from ... -
Data Is Springboard For Product Development May 23, 4:44 p.m.
iProspect named Ben Wood to global president Thursday; he's tasked with growing the company's network and ... -
Vice, Twitter Partner For Mobile Show May 23, 2:14 p.m.
Simultaneously expanding its video and social strategy, Vice on Thursday unveiled #dailyvice -- a daily show ...
Be the first to comment on "Doctor Alleges Google's Autocomplete Defames Him"
Leave a Comment