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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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