B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Federal Election
  • Pinterest
  • AFL
  • Anthony Albanese
  • NRL
  • WPP
  • AI
  • Thinkerbell
  • State of Origin
  • EssenceMediaCom
  • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Channel 10
  • Meta
  • B&T Women in Media
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: Google wins drawn-out legal battle with ACCC
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Uncategorised > Google wins drawn-out legal battle with ACCC
Uncategorised

Google wins drawn-out legal battle with ACCC

Staff Writers
Published on: 6th February 2013 at 10:49 AM
Staff Writers
Share
2 Min Read
SHARE

UPDATED: The High Court has ruled Google’s practice of allowing competitors to buy up rival’s trading names on ad words is not illegal, handing a massive victory to the search giant.

Last April the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission won a six-year case against the world’s largest search provider, but Google was given special leave to appeal to the High Court on the matter.

Today the judges have ruled Google was not wrong to allow Telstra’s online classifieds arm TradingPost to buy up the names of rival car dealers Kloster Ford and Charlestown Toyota.

The move meant TradingPost came out on top on searches on Google for those company names.

The High Court's decision means that the search giant is not responsible for ads that may be considered misleading.

In a statement the High Court said: "Google did not create the sponsored links that it published or displayed.  Ordinary and reasonable users of the Google search engine would have understood that the representations conveyed by the sponsored links were those of the advertisers, and would not have concluded that Google adopted or endorsed the representations.  Accordingly, Google did not engage in conduct that was misleading or deceptive."

A Google spokesperson said: “We welcome the High Court’s unanimous decision that Google cannot be held responsible for the ads that advertisers create for Google's search engine."

The ruling will come as a relief to search providers in Australia, who would have been forced to rethink their business practices, and possibly overhaul their sophisticated algorithms to avoid more potential legal strife.

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

Share
Staff Writers
By Staff Writers
Follow:
Staff Writers represent B&T's team of award-winning reporters. Here, you'll find articles crafted with industry experience spanning over 50 years. Our team of specialists brings together a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to delivering insightful, topical, and breaking news. With a deep understanding of advertising and media, our Staff Writers are dedicated to providing industry-leading analysis and reporting, both shaping the conversation and setting the benchmark for excellence.

Latest News

TV Ratings (17/06/2025): 1.5 Million Tuned In For Finale As Farmer Corey Chose His Wife
18/06/2025
The Future Belongs To The Bold
18/06/2025
UK Broadcasters Unite To Launch Single Advertising Marketplace For SMEs
18/06/2025
Accused Mushroom Killer Fuels Record Listener Surge For ABC Podcasts
18/06/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?