Google Facing Possible Class Action Over Excess Advertising Charges

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

11 August 2005

Internet search giant, Google is facing a proposed class action lawsuit filed earlier this month by advertiser CLRB Hanson Industries LLC and others.

The firm and its co-plaintiffs are arguing that the search portal imposed charges in excess of advertisers' daily budgets, which are designed to limit the amount spent on advertising per day.

Under Google's AdSense system, advertisers can display adverts on content-related websites relevant to their product or service. Google receives a fee from the advertiser every time that the ad is clicked, and repays a portion of that fee to the owner of the website in question.

In the suit, filed in Santa Clara's State Superior Court on August 3, the plaintiffs accused Google of disputing their complaints with regard to its pricing practices, and of failing to reimburse "unlawful" charges.

However, the search firm has argued that the allegations have no basis, stating following the filing of the case that:

"The claims are without merit and we will defend against...(them) vigorously."

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