Web Site Sues Google Over Its Low Ranking

A company has sued Google because it’s unhappy with its ranking. Parent portal KinderStart.com accuses the search giant of unfair trade practices and a lack of objectivity after KinderStart said its Web site stopped being listed in the results as prominently as it had been in the past. Here’s the story from Red Herring.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in San Jose on Friday, the company said that Google blocked its site, violating the “free flow of speech, traffic, and commerce.” The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, could potentially force Google to reveal its proprietary search logarithims.

A Google spokesperson told Red Herring: “We believe the lawsuit is without merit and we will defend against it vigorously.” . . .

[S]aid a reseach analyst to Red Herring: “The implications of what they’re arguing are really sweeping. It would imply everyone is entitled to their ranking. It’s a piece of property they own. Every time someone’s ranking changes, they can make these types of claims.”

Details here from The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog.

Comments

[nascar nerd]

I'm not sure they will win this lawsuit. I mean-after all-Google is a company, and they decide who is highest on the rankings. I think they should just hope they are still high on yahoo and the other sites.

[Gary]

They don't stand a chance, and rightly so - the case is a joke.

Google are not obligated to provide anyone with a high listing for free - you are just lucky if you come up top. It's entirely up to google who they list and where. The system they've got clearly works or else no-one would use it!