The background to this was that when the name of a company was entered in combination with the word “suspected fraud” on google.de, a search result appeared that led to a report that falsely gave the impression that the company was being investigated by the public prosecutor’s office on suspicion of fraud.
The ban is explicitly limited to the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany. In the event of non-compliance, a fine of up to € 250,000 or up to six months’ imprisonment may be imposed.
After the Munich Regional Court had rejected the application for a temporary injunction, the Munich Higher Regional Court issued the temporary injunction following an immediate appeal, not only without delay but also with detailed reasons.
The Higher Regional Court agreed with the applicant that German law was applicable, that the search result or the “snippet” together with the linked website contained an untrue and reputation-damaging factual claim and that Google was liable for this as a disturber due to the breach of its duty to investigate. It was true that the applicant was being investigated by the public prosecutor, but not for fraud, but for a much less serious offense. Google had not responded to out-of-court requests from the applicant or had only responded with emails consisting of text modules.
With regard to the details of the decision and its motives, we refer to the careful reasoning of the Munich Higher Regional Court, to which nothing needs to be added. The decision is only provisional, not legally binding and can be challenged by means of an appeal.
It is to be hoped that Google will take the decision as an opportunity to assume greater responsibility for the search results listed. At the latest when the person concerned clearly draws attention to a concrete infringement of the law, Google – like any other distributor of third-party content – must take action.
Disclosure: Our law firm represented the applicant.
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