TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Google Gets Sued

Google Gets Sued

Reuters News Wire (newswire@telecom-digest.org)
Mon, 8 Aug 2005 16:54:57 -0500

Google sued over claims of excess advertising fees

Google Inc. is being sued over accusations that it overcharged
advertisers who use the Web search giant's paid search advertising
program, which accounts for the vast majority of Google's revenue.

The proposed class-action suit, filed on August 3 in State Superior
Court in Santa Clara, California, accuses Google of charging in excess
of advertisers' "daily budgets," under which Google allows an
advertiser to limit how much it spends each day.

Lawyers for the proposed suit were not available to comment. The suit
seeks unspecified monetary damages and was filed on behalf of CLRB
Hanson Industries LLC in Minnesota and other advertisers.

Google said the allegations had no basis.

"The claims are without merit and we will defend against it
vigorously," said Google spokesman Steve Langdon.

The suit claims Google "engaged in conduct which injured members of the
general public, including the plaintiffs" and said it was "impossible
... to determine the exact amount of the injury without a detailed
review of Google's books and records."

It also accuses Google, based in Mountain View, California, of
disputing complaints from advertisers regarding the company's pricing
practices and for not reimbursing what the suit called "unlawful"
charges.

Google, the biggest player in the global Internet advertising market,
gets the vast majority of its revenue from Web search advertising.

Shares of Google closed down $1.10 to $291.25 on Nasdaq. The stock is
7.2 percent below its record close of $313.94 on July 21.

Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.

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