Website chief threatens to sue Google for libel
By Joshua Rozenberg, Legal Editor
Last Updated: 3:28am BST 30/06/2007
A British businessman is threatening a landmark legal action against Google, the world's leading internet search engine, after claims that it has defamed him.
Brian Retkin has warn that he will proceed with a libel case against the web giant unless it removes links to defamatory comments about his internet company.
Lawyers for Dotworlds, which registers distinctive domain names, have sent Google what lawyers call a "letter before action".
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Mr Renton, 48, the company's managing director, of Wembley, north London, said he would sue if Google did not take down the links about his company posted anonymously. "Based on what I know today, I am determined to go ahead with this," he added.
A successful legal challenge could be catastrophic for all search engines in the future as Google and its rivals might have to filter their results more carefully, excluding those that were defamatory.
Google has maintained that it is not responsible for the websites that it identifies in response to search queries, but it has shown that it is prepared, if asked, to remove links to individual sites that may break the law.
Comment: In relation to this last paragraph, I look forward to Google removing the links to FJLathome's blog now that she has been sentenced to 6 months for harassing Rachel North London.
UPDATE: Fuller and better report here.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
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