Google To Pay a lawyer $234 million for damaging its reputation

Ulrich Richter Morales, a Mexican lawyer, decided to file a complaint against Google after repeatedly asking for a blog to be taken down. The site in question publishes articles that damage the reputation of the complainant. The court ruled in favor of the latter and ordered the payment of a fine of 234 million euros.

If Google is no stranger to fines, those imposed by the civil court of Mexico City are somewhat unusual. Mountain View’s legal concerns generally relate to the misuse of its users’ personal information or questionable business practices – a category that is increasingly costing it. His sentencing in Mexico, on the other hand, is very different, as it concerns moral damage.

The latest dates back to 2015, when Ulrich Richter Morales, a Mexican lawyer, reached out to Google to: remove a particular blog from search results. According to him, the blog in question alleges that the man is involved in money laundering, influence, or falsification of documents. Ulrich Richter Morales states that these articles damage his reputation and therefore asks Google to remove them

Google fines 234 million euros for non-material damage

Faced with Google’s inaction, the lawyer subsequently decided to file a complaint and seek damages from the company. Justice Will Give Him Reason By Ordering Google To Pay Him 5 Billion Pesos, Or About 234 million euros Of course, the web giant doesn’t intend to let it go so easily and, like many other beliefs, decide to appeal against this decision of the court.

According to Google, the latter is “arbitrary, excessive and unfounded”. The company said it plans to defend itself “until the last resort because this verdict undermines freedom of expression and other fundamental principles”. Unusual as it is, this conviction is not a first for Google. A few weeks ago, the company received a fine of 466,000 euros for hosting videos deemed defamatory of an Australian politician on YouTube.