Google wins in the High Court

After a resounding loss against the ACCC in the Full Federal Court, Google has succeeded on appeal in the High Court.

The High Court ruled that Google was not responsible for misleading advertising links which had been chosen by advertisers. It found that Google had acted as a mere conduit between advertisers and search users. The decision explores when an intermediary might be responsible for passing on misleading information.

Background

Advertisements on Google appear as paid search results, in a separate box ahead of other results. It is a targeted form of advertising as the advertised results are meant to relate to the search terms entered.

A number of advertisers took advantage of this by choosing keywords associated with competitors. This resulted in their links being displayed as (paid) search results in response to search terms associated with competitors.