Google to Pay $90MM Click Fraud Suit

[kamlin]

Google to Pay $90MM Click Fraud Suit

Google to Pay $90MM Click Fraud Suit
Google Inc. has agreed to pay $90 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company, along with other web search companies, billed advertisers for false customer leads.

Also named in the original lawsuit were the search businesses of Yahoo! Inc., Walt Disney Co., Lycos Inc., LookSmart Ltd. and Findwhat.com Inc., which is now known as MIVA Inc.

Click fraud involves a malicious party repeatedly clicking on an ad link to generate a commission payment with each click. Google's revenues, which are around 97 percent, are the result of pay-per-click ads, reported Reuters.

"In the beginning days, we called this click fraud black magic. We didn't know what it was. We'd argue about the surge in numbers. Where was this coming from? And then it dawned on me: click fraud. It opens up the eyes that it exists in the Google Ad Words system. It's the publishers, advertisers and clients that share the responsibility for catching click fraud and it's a bigger concern that advertisers and publishers want to admit," Micheal Caruso, founder and CEO of Clickfacts, told iMedia.

Nicole Wong, associate general counsel, Google says "We are proposing a settlement with the plaintiffs in this case. The proposal would allow advertisers to apply for credits for clicks they believe were not valid. Specific details of the settlement will remain confidential until it is presented to the judge. We do not know how many advertisers will apply and receive credits, but the total amount, including the legal fees determined by the judge, will not exceed $90 million."

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Google同意9000万美元就点击欺诈案达成和解

　Google Inc.宣布，公司已同意支付最高9,000万美元的法律费用和广告费抵用补偿，就去年对该公司和其他互联网公司的指控达成和解。这项指控称，这些公司故意超额收取网络广告费用，并彼此心照不宣地继续如此行事。

　　原告之一、阿肯色州零售商Lane's Gifts & Collectibles LLC的一位代理律师和佛罗里达州私人侦探麦克斯?考菲尔德(Max Caulfield)表示，他们已请求主审法官批准这项和解方案。和解方案没有批驳Google为点击欺诈所做的辩护，而且由此Google也将无需在法庭上进一步披露其广告系统和反欺诈措施的细节。

　　原告指控这些互联网公司就欺诈性点击收取了费用，这是不合理的。恶意点击网上广告就属于点击欺诈。广告客户一般是根据人们点击随著网页搜索结果或其他网上内容出现的广告的数量向Google和其他互联网公司付费。通过点击这些广告或通过软件自动进行点击，欺诈者就能提高竞争对手的广告支出，有时还会获得经济利益。

　　根据和解方案，Google将向宣称是点击欺诈受害者的Google广告客户提供一定数量的广告费抵用补偿。具体的索赔额、补偿流程以及拟定的不同受害者的补偿数额尚未对外披露。Google表示，包括原告的法律费用在内，和解总值不会超过9,000万美元。Google目前规定广告客户应在发生点击欺诈60天内申请补偿，但和解方案允许所有美国广告客户就2002年以来发生的点击欺诈申请补偿。

　　Google的副首席法律顾问Nicole Wong在公司网站刊登的声明中表示，和解方案对各方都是一个好的结果。一位原告律师乔治?麦克威廉姆斯(George McWilliams)表示，由于该和解方案不是最终结果，还需得到法官格瑞芬(Griffin)的批准，目前无法对细节问题做出进一步评论。Search Engine Watch网站周三报导了和解方案的达成。

　　点击欺诈在搜索领域是一个热点问题，原因之一是搜索企业不愿披露界定点击欺诈的具体范围和所采取的反欺诈措施的细节。Google的首席执行长埃里克?施密特(Eric Schmidt)上周向分析师表示，Google拥有解决点击欺诈问题的员工和体系，并会在发生点击欺诈后补偿广告客户。他说，这对公司而言不是大问题。

　　即使此和解方案获得批准，但这起诉讼中对雅虎公司(Yahoo! Inc.)等其他被告的指控还不会结束。雅虎公司的发言人对此项和解方案不予置评，但表示“我们坚信我们特有的点击保护系统，将会就此案进行积极辩护。”

　　去年在加州圣何塞的联邦地区法院还有一起针对Google提起的同点击欺诈相关的案件，目前尚未结案。