BECKHAM
07-06-2013, 01:09 AM
Google is still allowing consumers to obtain illegal and counterfeit goods, including dangerous drugs without a prescription, Mississippi state Attorney General Jim Hood charged Thursday.
The Internet giant paid $500 million in 2011 to settle Justice Department charges over fraudulent online pharmacy ads. The settlement agreement was related to ads for fraudulent Canadian pharmacies operating in the U.S.
The government alleged that Google knew the pharmacies did not require a prescription for drugs like potent painkiller Oxycontin and attention-deficit drug Ritalin and continued to feature them in search results until Justice took action..
Now a nationwide group of state attorney generals is charging Google is at again. Hood, who co-chairs the National Association of Attorneys General intellectual property committee, says there are concerns that Google's search engine displays at the top of keyword search results websites known to sell counterfeit goods. And the attorneys general say they are concerned that some of the sites selling counterfeit goods advertise with Google.
"We take the safety of our users very seriously and we've explained to Attorney General Hood how we enforce policies to combat rogue online pharmacies and counterfeit drugs," Google said in a statement late Thursday. "In the last two years, we've removed more than 3 million ads for illegal pharmacies, and we routinely remove videos that are flagged for violating YouTube's Guidelines regarding dangerous or illegal content."
The company said it is continuing to work on the issue, including with groups like the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies.
But Hood says the violators were easy to find.
"On every check we have made, Google's search engine gave us easy access to illegal goods, including websites which offer dangerous drugs without a prescription, counterfeit goods of every description, and infringing copies of movies, music, software and games," said Hood. "This behavior means that Google is putting consumers at risk and facilitating wrongdoing, all while profiting handsomely from illegal behavior."
Hood says he has told Google about his concerns but the company hasn't provided "any substantive response to date."
Hood's group invited Google CEO Larry Page to a June 17 national meeting of the attorneys general in Boston to address their concerns. So far, Page has not responded to the mailed invitation. Hood says the AGs will issue subpoenas if Google officials don't attend or show up but refuse to answer questions.
Separately, a report to be released Monday by advocacy group Digital Citizens Alliance concludes YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, has "given bad actors and others a mainstream platform to advertise in a way unprecedented in history."
The group's investigation of YouTube's content found Google has allowed its video streaming service to become a major host for "how-to" videos on various illicit and even dangerous activities. When a YouTube search is conducted for "buy drugs without a prescription," the search yields 38,200 results, the report says.
Not only do the videos teach users how to find drugs, many of them link to websites selling drugs like Tramadol or Percocet and act as "commercials" for drug distribution websites, the group says.
In addition to videos on buying prescription drugs, the Washington, D.C.--based DCA found a large collection of "educational" videos on YouTube that cover a variety of illegal activities.
Viewers can learn how to buy narcotics, how to build a shrapnel bomb, how to find a prostitute and how make a fake passport. Not only are these videos easy to find, Google actually hosts advertisements on these videos and turns a profit from views, DCA alleges.
"Google has some of the most incredible minds in the world. They can make a driverless car and Google Glass," says DCA's Tom Galvin. "They certainly have the analytics capabilities to know about these videos,"
According to the DCA report, users who post videos on YouTube must opt to allow Google to post ads on the video display pages. Once users give YouTube permission to host ad content, Google splits the page view revenue with the users.
Many of the ads also are content-related. For example, videos for making fake passports often feature ads for immigration lawyers or videos on how to buy painkillers without a prescription show ads for managing chronic back pain.
"Google is aiding and abetting criminal activity and putting consumers at risk," says Hood. "This is of grave concern to the chief law enforcement officers of this nation."
The Internet giant paid $500 million in 2011 to settle Justice Department charges over fraudulent online pharmacy ads. The settlement agreement was related to ads for fraudulent Canadian pharmacies operating in the U.S.
The government alleged that Google knew the pharmacies did not require a prescription for drugs like potent painkiller Oxycontin and attention-deficit drug Ritalin and continued to feature them in search results until Justice took action..
Now a nationwide group of state attorney generals is charging Google is at again. Hood, who co-chairs the National Association of Attorneys General intellectual property committee, says there are concerns that Google's search engine displays at the top of keyword search results websites known to sell counterfeit goods. And the attorneys general say they are concerned that some of the sites selling counterfeit goods advertise with Google.
"We take the safety of our users very seriously and we've explained to Attorney General Hood how we enforce policies to combat rogue online pharmacies and counterfeit drugs," Google said in a statement late Thursday. "In the last two years, we've removed more than 3 million ads for illegal pharmacies, and we routinely remove videos that are flagged for violating YouTube's Guidelines regarding dangerous or illegal content."
The company said it is continuing to work on the issue, including with groups like the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies.
But Hood says the violators were easy to find.
"On every check we have made, Google's search engine gave us easy access to illegal goods, including websites which offer dangerous drugs without a prescription, counterfeit goods of every description, and infringing copies of movies, music, software and games," said Hood. "This behavior means that Google is putting consumers at risk and facilitating wrongdoing, all while profiting handsomely from illegal behavior."
Hood says he has told Google about his concerns but the company hasn't provided "any substantive response to date."
Hood's group invited Google CEO Larry Page to a June 17 national meeting of the attorneys general in Boston to address their concerns. So far, Page has not responded to the mailed invitation. Hood says the AGs will issue subpoenas if Google officials don't attend or show up but refuse to answer questions.
Separately, a report to be released Monday by advocacy group Digital Citizens Alliance concludes YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, has "given bad actors and others a mainstream platform to advertise in a way unprecedented in history."
The group's investigation of YouTube's content found Google has allowed its video streaming service to become a major host for "how-to" videos on various illicit and even dangerous activities. When a YouTube search is conducted for "buy drugs without a prescription," the search yields 38,200 results, the report says.
Not only do the videos teach users how to find drugs, many of them link to websites selling drugs like Tramadol or Percocet and act as "commercials" for drug distribution websites, the group says.
In addition to videos on buying prescription drugs, the Washington, D.C.--based DCA found a large collection of "educational" videos on YouTube that cover a variety of illegal activities.
Viewers can learn how to buy narcotics, how to build a shrapnel bomb, how to find a prostitute and how make a fake passport. Not only are these videos easy to find, Google actually hosts advertisements on these videos and turns a profit from views, DCA alleges.
"Google has some of the most incredible minds in the world. They can make a driverless car and Google Glass," says DCA's Tom Galvin. "They certainly have the analytics capabilities to know about these videos,"
According to the DCA report, users who post videos on YouTube must opt to allow Google to post ads on the video display pages. Once users give YouTube permission to host ad content, Google splits the page view revenue with the users.
Many of the ads also are content-related. For example, videos for making fake passports often feature ads for immigration lawyers or videos on how to buy painkillers without a prescription show ads for managing chronic back pain.
"Google is aiding and abetting criminal activity and putting consumers at risk," says Hood. "This is of grave concern to the chief law enforcement officers of this nation."