Google wins legal battle against Australian competition regulator
06 Feb 2013
Internet search giant Google has won its legal battle with the Australian Competition Consumer Commmission (ACCC), with the High Court overturning a ruling that the company had engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct.
The ruling rings down the curtain on a legal battle over the ACCC's allegation that the sponsored links for the keywords for Honda, Harvey World Travel, Alpha Dog Training and Just 4X4 magazine were published by Google but led consumers to rival firms.
The case dates back to search results in 2006 and 2007, where a search for Honda Australia would serve up a paid advertisement for a Honda competitor, CarSales.
According to the ACCC the ads were deceptive, as they suggested a link between CarSales and Honda.
The full Federal Court had held Google guilty of engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct by publishing these links.
However, Google approached the High Court, which yesterday ruled unanimously in its favour.
