Australia’s High Court finds Google not liable for defamation

SYDNEY, Aug 17 (Reuters) – Australia’s Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a ruling that found Google guilty of defamation by providing a link to a controversial newspaper article.

A seven-judge panel of Australia’s High Court voted 5-2 to reject an earlier finding that Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL.O) By acting as a “library”, the website played a role in publishing the offending article, claiming it had no active role.

The ruling brings further confusion to a question that has simmered in Australia for years about liability for online defamation. A years-long review of the country’s defamation laws has yet to make a final recommendation on whether meta-platforms such as Google and Facebook should be held liable.

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The case stems from a 2004 article that suggested a defense attorney crossed professional boundaries and became a “confidant” with the accused, according to the ruling. Attorney George Defteros found a link to the story in a 2016 Google search of his name and asked Google to remove it after 150 people viewed it, according to the ruling.

Defteros sued in state court, which found Google to be a publisher and ordered it to pay A$40,000 ($28,056). Google appealed the ruling, culminating in Wednesday’s decision.

“The Underworld article was not written by any employee or agent of the appellant,” the panel’s two judges wrote in Wednesday’s ruling, the appellant being Google.

“It was written by a journalist unrelated to the appellant and published by an independent press over which the appellant had no control or influence.”

Google “does not own or control the Internet,” they wrote.

A Google spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Defteros said in a statement that the process was “long, time-consuming, expensive and extremely stressful,” but felt vindicated because the court agreed the article was defamatory, even though Google was not held liable.

The decision comes after the High Court found last year that a newspaper publisher was liable for defamatory comments under an article he published on Facebook. read more

The difference between the 2021 Facebook case and Wednesday’s case is that last year the media outlets “invited and encouraged comment,” while Google “did not provide a forum or place where it could be contacted and did not encourage response,” the judges wrote. .

($1 = 1.4257 Australian dollars)

Report by Byron Kay; Editing: Muralikumar Anantharaman

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