Google Inc v. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Lower Court Judgment

03/04/2012 Federal Court of Australia (Keane CJ, Jacobson and Lander JJ)

[2012] FCAFC 49

Catchwords

Consumer law — Misleading and deceptive conduct — On-line advertising — Applicant operator of free internet search engine — Advertisers promoted their goods or services by means of sponsored links that appeared on search result pages displayed by applicant's internet search engine — Advertisements displayed in response to user's search query — Whether in displaying the sponsored links the applicant engaged in conduct that was misleading and deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive for the purposes of section 52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (now s 18 Australian Consumer Law) — Whether in displaying the advertisements in response to a particular user's search query the applicant made the representations contained in the advertisements.

Short Particulars