Top > Business > 2005 > December > 2005-12-21

Google to Monitor the Web

With billions and billions of websites available on the World Wide Web it seems impossible to have the ability to regulate them all. Even Google, cannot filter out all of the profane and inappropriate sites that are on the internet. Despite an agreement by Google to withdraw a number of allegedly defamatory postings from their Search Engines worldwide, dot WORLDS claims their gestures are simply a token and a continuation of their policy of obstruction and delay. dot WORLDS believes that Google`s refusal to fully address the subject of libel on its websites is a global problem and that there is little to stop the popular Search Engine from being hijacked by unscrupulous individuals for their own purposes.

Brian Retkin CEO of dot WORLDS says that Google has managed to defend its position by relying on the unique status of American law. `The biggest obstacle that dot WORLDS will face is the court`s grappling with Google`s defense that it has no way to judge what is defamatory and that it cannot be in the position of having to make judicial judgments - which in the defamation area is notoriously difficult, even for a court to make,` says Retkin. This is coupled with the preeminence of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech which is always given the benefit of the doubt in the USA and which has often proved to be a viable defense in Internet-related cases in recent years.

With such uncertainty, dot WORLDS may find it hard to prevail, however dot WORLDS say they plan to fight this case from a new and different perspective and feel they can succeed where others have failed.
If dot WORLDS does succeed, the ramifications for Google could be immense. With up to 9 billion pages that would require proper scrutiny, Google could find themselves in need of much greater levels of staff and resources simply to ensure they stay on the right side of the law.