search engine liability Archives

Quebec IT Framework Act Decision Impact on Search Engines

In A.B. c. Google, 2026 QCCA 157, the Quebec Court of Appeal held that Google could incur liability under Quebec’s Act to establish a legal framework for information technology (the “IT Framework Act”) for refusing to de-index hyperlinks to defamatory content after acquiring knowledge of its unlawful character. The Court distinguished the Supreme Court’s decision in Crookes v. Newton, interpreted section 22 of the IT Framework Act as imposing obligations on intermediaries once they become aware of unlawful activity, and upheld a de-indexing injunction limited to Quebec.…

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Google ordered by BC court to block websites: Equustek Solutions Inc. v. Jack

In an important decision rendered on June 13, 2014, a Canadian court ordered Google to block a website that was selling goods that violated the trade secrets of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs obtained a default judgment against the defendants. But, the defendants continued to sell the offending goods over the Internet. The plaintiffs, unable to enforce their judgment, asked for Google’s help in blocking the website. Google voluntarily de-indexed specific URL’s requested by the plaintiffs, but this “whac-a-mole” process was ineffective.…

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misleading advertising

Google wins sponsored links case in Australia

Google won an important case earlier today in the High Court of Australia In Google Inc v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [2013] HCA 1 (6 February 2013), Australia’s highest court unanimously allowed an appeal from a decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia which had found that Google had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct contrary to s 52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 by publishing and displaying sponsored links. The High Court ruled that Google did not create the sponsored links that it published or displayed.…

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