Man wins injunction against Google after auto-complete web search ruins his life

[jimmy olsen]

Damn, that's got to suck to be that guy.

Can't Google just suspend that feature in Japan and leave it in place elsewhere?
www.digitaltrends.com/web/man-wins-injunction-against-google-after-claiming-auto-complete-web-search-ruined-his-life/?src=Outbrain

Man wins injunction against Google after claiming auto-complete web search ruined his life
Andy Boxall March 26, 2012 By Andy Boxall

A Japanese court has ordered Google to suspend its auto-complete search feature, after a man complained he is being linked to crimes he didn't commit.

Google's auto-complete feature — also known as Google Instant — is both handy and amusing, as it not only lets you find those tricky search phrases and ensure your spelling is correct, but also marvel at the baffling things your fellow humans have searched for in the past.

However, one Japanese man hasn't found it amusing at all, as when he searches for his own name, it returns suggestions linking him with crimes he claims he hasn't committed. It's not just a couple of pages either, as he says by choosing one of the options returns at least 10,000 individual results.

Having been turned down by Google after requesting the terms be removed, the man, who has not been named, sought an injunction against the search giant through the Japanese courts.

This isn't all about vanity either, as his lawyer claims the man lost his job and been turned down for others due to the search results, presumably after potential employers performed the almost de rigueur Google check before extending an offer.

After the case was adjudicated on 19 March, it has now been announced that the Tokyo court has approved the injunction and ruled that Google must suspend its auto-complete results.

Google has refused to comply with the order, and according to the Japan Times, has said it "will not be regulated by Japanese law" and that "the case does not warrant deleting the auto-complete suggestions." Further legal action has been threatened.
Legal battles and controversy

Introduced near the end of 2010, Google Instant almost immediately attracted complaints, most notably from Yahoo, who blamed the service for a drop in its search market share.

More recently, a similar case in France saw Google remove the words "rapist" and "satanist" from searches involving a man's name. Oddly, the man was convicted of corrupting a minor, so why it's fighting against protecting the privacy of an innocent man in Japan is anyone's guess.

Google creates its list of suggested results by using data from other searches, both long-term and current, along with geographical location and language. To weed out any offensive or indecent search phrases, Google Instant relies on a set of strict filters.

Despite repeated problems, there's still no clear way to complain to Google about Instant results, as Google's own Help page merely directs users with questions to the busy Google Search Forum rather than a dedicated page.

Google isn't the only one to offer search suggestions though, as Bing, Yahoo and even DuckDuckGo all provide similar services. So one wonders whether the unfortunate Japanese man's ordeal has only just begun.

[HVC]

I'm not sure what this accomplishes. Even if the take off the auto function and typing "Mr. X" no longer automatically bring up a search for "Mr X has sex with farm animals", just searcing for "Mr. X" will still bring up links to the farm animals story.

[Ideologue]

Wait, so people went to the trouble of googling this dude's name, but didn't go to the trouble of confirming that the Ken Watanabe or whomever they're considering is the same Ken Watanabe that fucks goats?

Sounds like what we actually need is an injunction against HR people existing.

[garbon]

Wait, so people went to the trouble of googling this dude's name, but didn't go to the trouble of confirming that the Ken Watanabe or whomever they're considering is the same Ken Watanabe that fucks goats?

Sounds like what we actually need is an injunction against HR people existing.

This.

[Valmy]

There is this internet meme about this hated ex-football player in Texas (at least among people who are not fans of the SMU Mustangs) named Craig James where everytime you talk about him you mention that he might have killed five postitutes while at SMU.  Naturally everytime you enter Craig James in Google the prostitutes thing shows up.

[Valmy]

Wait, so people went to the trouble of googling this dude's name, but didn't go to the trouble of confirming that the Ken Watanabe or whomever they're considering is the same Ken Watanabe that fucks goats?

Sounds like what we actually need is an injunction against HR people existing.

That is what pisses me off about the use of Google and Social Media to spy on perspective employees.  And even if it is you in facebook or twitter or whatever, what is to stop somebody making a phony page to smear or if it is a joke the employer doesn't understand is a joke?

[Sheilbh]

I thought this was going to be about Santorum

[Ideologue]

That is what pisses me off about the use of Google and Social Media to spy on perspective employees.  And even if it is you in facebook or twitter or whatever, what is to stop somebody making a phony page to smear or if it is a joke the employer doesn't understand is a joke?

If I were given sweeping legislative powers, one of the first things I'd draft would be a prospective hire protection act.

[DontSayBanana]

There is this internet meme about this hated ex-football player in Texas (at least among people who are not fans of the SMU Mustangs) named Craig James where everytime you talk about him you mention that he might have killed five postitutes while at SMU.  Naturally everytime you enter Craig James in Google the prostitutes thing shows up.

Google-bombing is black-hat SEO from way back- it doesn't work as well anymore; Google monitors for it and even threaten to delete listings if they detect it.  Supposedly, the algorithm's also been tweaked to counter it- my personal suspicion is that they look for the peak of an assymetric bell curve instead of gross amount of hits.

[DontSayBanana]

That is what pisses me off about the use of Google and Social Media to spy on perspective employees.  And even if it is you in facebook or twitter or whatever, what is to stop somebody making a phony page to smear or if it is a joke the employer doesn't understand is a joke?

If I were given sweeping legislative powers, one of the first things I'd draft would be a prospective hire protection act.

Not sure about the Google side, but Facebook's already stepped in on the side of employees.  After that piece that ran last week about employers asking for Facebook passwords, the company came out and pretty directly addressed it- they actually suggested that they might take legal action themselves against employers doing it.

[Razgovory]

We all find it cute and funny when the Japanese name their children Adolf Hitler or something like that, but it has real consequences.

[Lucidor]

 

[Admiral Yi]

Why the Craig James hate?

[MadBurgerMaker]

Why the Craig James hate?

Craig James is an asshole.  Also, Valmy, there doesn't really seem to be a whole lot of love for him even among a lot of SMU types these days.

[CountDeMoney]

Why the Craig James hate?

Craig James is an asshole. 

Oh, come now.