A Yen for Autocomplete: Google Ordered to Pay Japanese Libel Plaintiff

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Multinational Internet services giant Google, Inc. has been ordered to pay a Tokyo plaintiff 300,000 yen ($3,057) in damages arising from his defamation and invasion of privacy claims, Agence France Presse ("AFP") and Cnet.com reported this week.

The culprit, according to the plaintiff's suit, is the Mountain View, Calif.-based Google's autocomplete function, which he alleged would link him to crimes he did not commit when Google users would begin typing his name in a search. The plaintiff, who was not identified, alleged he lost his job and has been unable to obtain employment since because of the negative autocomplete output.

Although Judge Hisaki Kobayashi did not conclude Google's autocomplete was to blame for the plaintiff losing his job, the judge did find a "situation has been created by which illegally submitted documents can easily be viewed."

It's doubtful whether Google will have to face the music because, as the AFP article noted, Google has no Japan-based data center, as it does in Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, so the Japanese Court's ability to exert influence is in doubt. For its part, Google argues autocomplete results are automatically generated and beyond its control.

The suggest function, which offers options when search terms are entered, has previously gotten Google into trouble in defamation cases in France (see "TUOL" post 9/27/10).

Khanfar Quits Al Jazeera: Is Wikileaks Posted U.S. Embassy Cable to Blame?

Image via WikipediaAfter an eight-year stint as Managing Director and Director-General of Al Jazeera, the Qatar-owned broadcasting network,Wadah Khanfar has resigned amid whispers his departure was precipitated by a WikiLeaks-posted October 20, 2005, cable from the U.S. Embassy in Doha, Qatar, indicating Khanfar's willingness to delete content from Al Jazeera's Website at the urging of a U.S. Intelligence official, according to Yahoo News' blog, The Cutline, and www.stinkyjournalism.org.

Neither Al Jazeera nor Khanfar in his resignation memo to staffers allude to the latest WikiLeaks-stirred controversy, with Khanfar merely suggesting it was time to move on after eight years at the helm. He will be replaced by Sheik Ahmad bin Jasem bin Muhammed Al-Thani from Qatar's royal family. It's nice to see a news executive work his way up the ladder after beginning at the top rung.

The WikiLeaks cable at issue, which was published in late August, purportedly reveals Khanfar agreeing to delete graphic photos and a doctor's testimony from Al Jazeera's Website that the U.S. found disturbing. Khanfar allegedly agreed he would remove the content after waiting a couple of days so that the deletions would not be "talked about."

CNET reports that Khanfar Tweeted about his resignation, saying he was "entertained" about the rumors underlying his departure.