Google confirmed last Friday (17) that it was ordered in Mexico to pay around $245 million (Real 1.26 billion) to a lawyer for allowing the publication of a blog pointing to it without evidence of pointed out various crimes. , a decision that will fail will be appealed in higher courts.
In a brief statement sent to AFP on Friday, Google Mexico confirmed the sanction for “nonmaterial damages” following the trial.
“We regret the verdict (…) which we consider to be arbitrary, excessive and unfounded. Google will defend itself to the last resort,” the statement said.
That decision, issued on June 13, “respects freedom of expression and other fundamental principles, and we trust that the federal courts will act in strict accordance with the law,” the statement added.
The plaintiff is attorney Ulrich Richter Morales. He accuses Google of allowing disclosures that make him the author of alleged crimes such as money laundering, influence trading and forgery.
“It’s a very important and relevant decision in this technological age, in the digital age, and I think it sets a precedent that technological search engines can also be held liable for property damage and are not exempt from that. ‘ Morales said in an interview.
The lawyer added that the fine “must be exemplary so that the person who caused the damage does not repeat it and another citizen does not see his rights affected”.
Since 2015, Google has had to take the blog off the internet, eight short posts from 2014 are still available.
Faced with the rejection, Morales Ulrich filed a lawsuit for nonpecuniary damages, which he won in first instance in 2021 and which Google appealed. This case could go all the way to the Supreme Court.
The American company based in Mountain View faced similar lawsuits in other countries.
On June 6, an Australian court ordered New South Wales Prime Minister John Barilaro to seek $500,000 in damages for alleging that he had been defamed in videos posted to YouTube by a comedian.