Google Inc. said on Wednesday that it had agreed to pay up to $90 million to settle a class action lawsuit over advertising fraud by outside parties on its site, in a bid to put the controversy behind it.
The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed by Lane’s Gifts earlier this year in an Arkansas state court and is designed to settle all outstanding claims against Google for fraud committed using its pay-per-click ad system back to 2002, it said. I wonder if it also covers the ATF lawsuit, filed late last year for fraudulent clicks and Google’s refusal to take steps against it.
Google will offer refunds on confirmed invalid clicks for advertisers beyond its current 60-day limit, in the form of credits to purchase ads with Google. The total amount of credits, plus attorneys’ fees, will not exceed $90 million.
According to their website this agreement covers all advertisers who claim to have been charged but not reimbursed for invalid clicks dating from 2002 when we launched our “cost per click” advertising program through the date the settlement is approved by the judge. It doesn’t explicitly mention the ATF lawsuit or Steve Mizera’s lawsuit.
Source: Google Blog via Search Engine Watch
Filed under Class Action, Cyber Crime, General Law | Tags: Claim, fraud, Google, Settlement | 1 Comment
Related?
Google Click Fraud Class Action Lawsuit UpdateAugust 8th, 2006 A new complaint has been filed in "click fraud" class action lawsuit against Google, the search engine, that Google hasn't taken steps to prevent click fraud and has misrepresented efforts to stop swindlers from repeatedly clicking Web site links to drive up advertising costs. The judge handling the case will have to consider whether to accept a $90 million settlement offer from Google.
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The class action suit alleged Google and its advertising partners have improperly profited from click fraud.
Click Fraud Class Action Settlement by YahooJune 29th, 2006 Yahoo declared that it is considering refunding money to advertisers and paying almost $5 million in attorney fees to settle the class action lawsuit which alleges that the company has been profiting from bogus sales referrals generated through a sham known as "click fraud". The agreement received preliminary approval.
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AIT Files Lawsuit Against Google for Breach of Contract and Unfair Business Practices; Seeks Class Action StatusDecember 11th, 2005 Google, Inc. has been sued by AIT, a two-time INC 500 Company who has advertised with Google for years, as the representative plaintiff in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Google $90 Million Click-Fraud Settlement Will Be RevisedJuly 24th, 2006 A U.S. judge will revise $90 million “click fraud” settlement between Internet search engine Google Inc. and advertisers who say they were victims, after receiving 51 objections over the agreement.
Google settle up with search marketers for $20 million over AdWordsApril 2nd, 2009 According to a report of MediaPost Google has agreed to settle on a class action lawsuit brought by search marketers for exceeding the daily budget within the AdWords system. There is a long list of companies and individuals suing Google for the way it runs its one-sided search ad business.
March 9th, 2006 at 5:49 am
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