Is Google Enabling Illegal Ads That May Harm Children?

Advertisements for counterfeit merchandise, illegal drugs, pornography, etc... have been on the Internet for years.  Unfortunately, it appears some companies that have the ability to remove ads and/or links from their web sites to illegal products and/or services may not be putting forth their best effort to do so.  Refusing to properly address these issues may lead to major legal and financial consequences.

Recently, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood publicly asked Google to "address issues on its web site that are allowing users to obtain illegal and counterfeit goods, including dangerous drugs without a prescription."  According to Mr. Hood, " “[o]n every check we have made, Google’s search engine gave us easy access to illegal goods including websites which offer dangerous drugs without a prescription, counterfeit goods of every description, and infringing copies of movies, music, software and games,”. Mr. Hood further stated, “[t]his behavior means that Google is putting consumers at risk and facilitating wrongdoing, all while profiting handsomely from illegal behavior.”

Google's response to Mr. Hood's allegations that it is not doing enough to stop the proliferation of ads for counterfeit goods has been called insufficient and inadequate. According to the Associated Press, Mr. Hood has stated that Google's previous response was also "evasive" and "overly technical" and that its "lack of meaningful action is unacceptable."   

The allegations against Google are extremely serious and very troubling.  This is not the first time it has been alleged that Google is profiting from illegal behavior.  In 2006, a lawsuit was filed and later withdrawn alleging that Google profited from child pornography. In 2009, Rosetta Stone sued Google and eventually reached a confidential settlement regarding allegations that Google illegally sold Rosetta Stone trademarks to third-party advertisers that linked to sites selling counterfeit software. 

Google has a proven track record of turning a blind eye to illegal ads on its platform.  In August 2011, Google agreed to "forfeit $500 million for allowing online Canadian pharmacies to place advertisements through its AdWords program targeting consumers in the United States, resulting in the unlawful importation of controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs into the United States."  According to the Wall Street Journal, Google's chief executive knew about the illicit conduct that led to the record forfeiture.  The U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island stated, "[w]e simply know from the documents we reviewed and witnesses we interviewed that Larry Page knew what was going on". 

Google's alleged behavior of putting advertising profits ahead of its concern for users was also recently criticized in the United Kingdom.  According to The Guardian, "thousands upon thousands of people are paying wholly unnecessary fees to access basic services provided by the government". This appears to be occurring because Google is not doing enough to police its AdWords system.  It took The Guardian's researchers, "milliseconds....to find a site in breach of Google's rules."  While Google did remove one of the sites that The Guardian reported was fleecing UK consumers, "the search engine continues to promote copycat sites, happily taking the revenue that they generate".  The problem of illegal content being easily accessible on Google's web sites is so serious that Prime Minister David Cameron recently called out Google for not doing enough to protect our children.  

Facebook recently announced that it blocks users in the Netherlands from seeing ads for online gambling to comply with the Dutch Betting and Gaming Act.  Last month, LinkedIn updated its terms of service to ban the advertising of sexual services on its platform.  For more than ten years, Google has been removing content from its French and German indexes that may conflict with local laws.  If Facebook and LinkedIn are able to implement programs that block ads for services or products that are illegal in some parts of the world why hasn't Google done more to protect its users?  Is it because 95% of its revenues comes from advertising? 

According to the Pew Internet Project report, 93% of all U.S. teens between the ages of 12-17 go online.  In addition, 47% of parents are “very concerned” about their child’s exposure to inappropriate content through the Internet or cell phones.  This month, the Digital Citizens Alliance released A Report on How Google and YouTube Stand to Benefit When Bad Actors Exploit the Internet that appears to demonstrate that Google is not doing enough to protect our children.  The report provides multiple recent examples where YouTube is exhibiting ads for illegal goods and/or services next to videos that appear to be targeted to children and/or teens.  

While some regulators appear to be weighing whether television advertising regulations should be applied to online video platforms, it is apparent that more safeguards are needed to protect children from illegal ads that appear on YouTube and other web sites.  Google's less than stellar record in monitoring its ecosystem for illegal ads may push regulators and/or lawmakers to over-regulate the Internet and stifle innovation. 

Unless Google acts expeditiously to better police its digital properties, it would not surprise me if a coalition of state attorney generals commences legal action to protect our children from the significant number of illegal ads that appear on Google's web sites.  To avoid a costly and drawn out legal quagmire that may not only affect its advertising business, but the entire digital advertising economy, it may be in Google's best interest to fully cooperate with the NAAG and take meaningful action that protects users from ads for illegal products and/or services.

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC.  All rights reserved.