Google Loses Lawsuit Over Defamatory Search Results

Google was forced to cough up more than $200,000 in damages this week to an Australian man who brought his shady search results to court.

Melbourne resident Milorad Trkulja was at a restaurant with his mother in the summer of 2004 when he got shot in the back by an unidentified hitman. The 62-year old music promoter survived the attack—but a Google search showed his online reputation didn’t have the same luck. A run of his name on Google Images bought up a Who’s Who of Melbourne’s Most Wanted, like alleged murderers, drug traffickers, mob bosses—not the type of impression you’d want to make before a first date.

Even though the only link Trkulja had to Melbourne’s underworld was being a victim of an unsolved crime, in Google logic, he was showing up in the same places (i.e., local crime news coverage and sites that chronicle gang-related incidents) as these less than savory characters.

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