You know those annoying sponsored links that appear
every time you search for something on Google? What about them?
Well, these sponsored links have been the subject of a five year
argument between the ACCC and Google.
It all began when someone typed 'Harvey World Travel'
into Google. A sponsored link popped up which, when clicked, led
that person to the website of STA Travel. Now, STA Travel isn't
the only advertiser to have bought AdWords containing the name of
its competitor. It's been quite a common trick employed by some
businesses to attract traffic. Is it annoying? Yep. Is it
misleading and illegal? Yep, just not by Google. But the ACCC had
thought otherwise...
Yesterday, the High Court unanimously overturned a decision of
the Full Federal Court while stating emphatically that Google
doesn't engage in misleading conduct by displaying sponsored
links containing misleading representations created by advertisers.
If this sounds familiar, it's because these laws
