Liability for ad content on Google stays with advertiser

Google is not liable for misleading advertisements or manipulated links - the originator of the link is.

So ruled the High Court of Australia in a case which we expect will be influential with the New Zealand courts.

The Google search engine and AdWords programme

A search on the Google search engine will generate two types of result: "organic search results" and "sponsored links". Organic search results are links to web pages listed in order of relevance, as determined by Google's algorithm. A sponsored link is a form of advertisement. Such links appear separately and typically consist of a headline with a link to a web page, the address of the web page and some brief advertising text.

The AdWords programme allows an advertiser to specify "key words" which, when entered into the Google search field, trigger the appearance of the advertiser's sponsored link. So typing "coke" in the search field is likely to reveal a sponsored link to the Coke website.

Misleading or deceptive conduct

This system runs into difficulty with trade practices legislation1 when the "key words" connect to a sponsored link in a way that may mislead or deceive the user. For example, typing "coke" and getting a sponsored link to Pepsi.

A sponsored link appearing in the...