Google will have to pay a Montreal man $500,000 after it restored a link to a post that inaccurately accused him of being a pedophile.
According to the Canadian Press, the man found the libellous post in 2007 after he googled his name. Google eventually removed the link from the search results from the Canadian website, but it inexplicably reinstated it.
The court documents explain the man in question is a businessman who claims his career and personal life took a hit when the post made its way online. The man’s name is protected by a publication ban.
Google explained that Quebec’s defamation laws wouldn’t apply to this specific instance and that it would not have to remove the link to the post under current U.S. laws.
Justice Azimuddin Hussian, a Quebec Superior Court judge, concluded that Quebec’s defamation laws would indeed apply. He added that Google isn’t required to observe each link available on its search engine, but it must take action when its links lead to defamatory pages.
