Australian court rules man can sue Google for defamation
Australian court rules man can sue Google for defamation
Associated Press Associated Press • June 13, 2018
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian man who alleges
Google defamed him on Wednesday won a court battle to sue the search engine
giant.
Milorad "Michael" Trkulja was shot in the back
in 2004 in a restaurant in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city.
The Australian High Court unanimously ruled in favor of
Trkulja, supporting his allegation that a Google search of his name could
indicate to an ordinary person he was "somehow associated with the
Melbourne criminal underworld."
Trkulja had successfully argued in the Victoria state
Supreme Court in 2012 that Google defamed him by publishing photos of him
linked to hardened criminals of Melbourne's underworld.
Four years later, the Victorian Court of Appeal
overturned the decision, finding the case had no prospect of successfully
proving defamation. The High Court disputed that ruling and ordered Google to
pay Trkulja's legal costs.
Google searches for "Melbourne criminal underworld
photos" bring up images of Trkulja alongside gangland figures, his lawyer
Guy Reynolds told the High Court in March.
However, Google's lawyers argued it would be
"irrational" for someone to assume photos in a Google image search
for underworld figures are all of criminals, because the same search would also
bring up the Google logo, movie posters, images of crime victims and photos of
actor Marlon Brando.
Trkulja is also claiming defamation around Google's
"autocomplete" options for his name, which have included phrases like
"is a former hit man," ''criminal" and "underworld."
However, the court heard autocomplete is an automatic
function and that previous searches influence future suggestions.
The defamation suit is expected to go back to the
Victoria Supreme Court for trial.
Trkulja said he would continue the legal action until he
gets the result he wants, fearful someone will see the images and tell his
grandchildren he's a hardened criminal.
"I will sue Google ... and I will sue them till they
stop. I want them to block my pictures," he said. "I'm not a
criminal, I've never been involved and I will make sure these people are not
going to ruin my family — I have grandchildren," he added.
Google said in a statement: "We will continue to
defend the claim. We decline to comment further on ongoing legal matters."
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