Google Sued for Low Rankings

[Another Media]

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http://today.reuters.com/news/newsAr...LE-LAWSUIT.xml

SAN FRANCISCO, March 18 (Reuters) - A parental advice Internet site has sued Google Inc., charging it unfairly deprived the company of customers by downgrading its search-result ranking without reason or warning.

The civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, on Friday by KinderStart.com seeks financial damages along with information on how Google ranks Internet sites when users conduct a Web-based search.

Google could not immediately be reached for comment but the company aggressively defends the secrecy of its patented search ranking system and asserts its right to adapt it to give customers what it determines to be the best results.

KinderStart charges that Google without warning in March 2005 penalized the site in its search rankings, sparking a "cataclysmic" 70 percent fall in its audience -- and a resulting 80 percent decline in revenue.

At its height, KinderStart counted 10 million page views per month, the lawsuit said. Web site page views are a basic way of measuring audience and are used to set advertising rates.

"Google does not generally inform Web sites that they have been penalized nor does it explain in detail why the Web site was penalized," the lawsuit said.

While an entire sub-industry exists to help Web sites feature prominently in Google results, the company is known to punish those who try to trick the system into boosting their search rankings.

The lawsuit notes that rival search systems from Microsoft Corp.'s MSN and Yahoo Inc. feature Kinderstart.com at the top of their rankings when the name "Kinderstart" is typed in.

The complaint accuses Google, as the dominant provider of Web searches, of violating KinderStart's constitutional right to free speech by blocking search engine results showing Web site content and other communications.

KinderStart contends that once a company has been penalized, it is difficult to contact Google to regain good standing and impossible to get a report on whether or why the search leader took such action.

The suit was filed the same day a federal judge denied a U.S. government request that Google be ordered to hand over a sample of keywords customers use to search the Internet while requiring the company to produce some Web addresses indexed in its system.

[renegade]

Interesting. It was only a matter of time before someone took this stance, no surprise it's in America.

[OLBG]

Yes it is interesting- theres lots of interesting concepts here particular in terms of ranking for their brand name.

However arent they really suing Google for not giving them free traffic!

I still dont see why Google should have any obligation to webmasters though as its only a step away from us all getting sued by merchants for not putting them on our sites!

[Azam.net]

Yep, agree with you Antony.

Interesting indeed. Wonder how it will pan out...

[Gavinio]

Best put all our merchants on prominent positions on your sites then, just in case!

G blocking websites from the search is quite different to not placing them highly. Interesting.

[drivetowin]

Personally I wouldn't have thought they stand a snowballs chance in hell.

At the end of the day surely Google's website is Google's website - it is and should be entirely up to them who they choose to list and where.

[MattElliott]

Ordinarily keith, I would agree with you, but this is the States!

[Rich]

Nice way to get some publicity!

A little SEO would help their odds no end - like having fairly correct HTML or the keyword listed in the body!

[Shane]

bit like filing to sue the library cos the book you've written is on the lower shelves rather than the upper ones, it's their filling system.. should feel lucky to be in there anyway... they don't have to list anyone

[nkernick]

It makes you realise why there is a monopolies and mergers commission.
It cannot go on much longer, Google should not be able to change the rules overnight and BAN websites without publishing the rules.

It is like the police arresting you for a reason, then not telling you what the reason is.

[drivetowin]

It cannot go on much longer, Google should not be able to change the rules overnight and BAN websites without publishing the rules.

Why not? - it's not like they charge a fee to enter - it's their site and they set the rules - just the same as the rest of us - I think some people forget that Google webpages are private property just like my websites or your websites - if it's your website which you're paying good money to host and maintain it's entirely up to you what you include / don't include

[km8]

Personally I wouldn't have thought they stand a snowballs chance in hell.

At the end of the day surely Google's website is Google's website - it is and should be entirely up to them who they choose to list and where.

Indeed, and you and I would say that in our defence.

No doubt so will Google, but the plaintiff will be arguing that Google's dominant market position for search functions imposes obligations on them that you and I don't share.

Would you feel the same way if it was your water supplier who was denying you their product and they were effectively the monopoly supplier in your area?

I'd bet there will be an element of 'monopoly supplier' argument in the plaintiffs case here, and therefore, I suspect that, notwithstanding the "only in America" comments, this case would actually be more likely to succeed in the UK.

Either way, it will be interesting to watch.

[Creature]

".......resulting 80 percent decline in revenue."

If Google have the power to reduce the revenue of a company by 80% then I would have though that we need new rules to ensure fair play.

[drivetowin]

If Google have the power to reduce the revenue of a company by 80% then I would have though that we need new rules to ensure fair play.

Surely Google would argue that any competent company would have had a business model which was not so reliant on one source of revenue.

[Bubb1es]

I'm sure a lot of businesses get a lot of revenue through Google

I wonder what would happen to the world economy if Google disappeared overnight