UPDATED 09:28 EDT / MAY 16 2013

NEWS

Google’s Auto-Complete Just Ain’t Funny Anymore

It might come in handy for shaving precious seconds off the time it takes to type out our search queries, but Google’s auto-complete algorithm is proving to be pretty contentious from a legal point of view. Earlier this week, a German court ruled against the search engine giant when it said that libelous auto-completes violate people’s basic rights to privacy.

First reported by the BBC, the latest case came about after an (appropriately) unnamed German businessman became angry after discovering that searches for his name on Google.de auto-completed queries with terms including “fraud” and “scientology”. The case has actually been dragging on for a while – the businessman lost two previous judgments – but the latest round saw German officials demand that Google make changes to its auto-complete algorithm when ever it’s notified of such “unlawful violations”.

And as the BBC continues, this is far from being the only case:

“The ruling could also have a bearing on another case involving auto-complete. Bettina Wulff, wife of former German president Christian Wulff, sued Google because auto-complete suggested words linking her to escort services. Mrs Wulff denies ever working as a prostitute and has fought several legal cases over the accusation. The case against Google is due to be heard soon in a Hamburg court.”

It’s not just the Germans that are getting all uppity over Google’s auto-complete either. Last year we heard about the case of the underworld-linked Hong Kong tycoon who took action against Google for slandering his own good name. Albert Yeung Sau-shing complained that it didn’t matter if you searched for his name in Chinese or English – Google’s drop-down auto-complete menu would always helpfully suggest the word “triad” to complete your search, something that clearly displeased the tycoon.

Then there’s the example of Guy Hingston, an Australian who accused Google of defaming his name by suggesting that he doesn’t have quite as much money as he’d like people to believe:

Sadly for Hingston, he probably shouldn’t have bothered. Not only did he lose his case but because it attracted so much attention from the media, far more people know of his financial problems now than would ever have done had he just kept his trap shut.

But the ire generated by Google’s auto-complete doesn’t stop at individuals. In a notable case from last year, SOS Racisme, an anti-racist group based in France, sued the search engine giant for being “anti-semitic”. It complained that Google was linking words terms such as “Jewish” and “Jew” with non-Jewish figures like tycoon Rupert Murdoch and actor Jon Hamm. Quite why SOS Racisme was so upset about this particular matter was never fully explained…

Nevertheless, all this boils down to is one question – should Google be held responsible for whatever its auto-complete function shows up? In its defence, Google insists that the results are generated by an algorithm that’s primarily based on the most popular searches associated with these figures in real life. In other words, we’re the ones doing the slandering, and all Google is doing is repeating whatever seems to be the general consensus on certain famous individuals.


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