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Is Google Enabling Illegal Ads That May Harm Children?

By Bradley S. Shear
June 28, 2013

Advertisements for counterfeit merchandise, illegal drugs, pornography, etc, have been on the Internet for years. Unfortunately, it appears some companies that have the ability to remove ads and/or links from their websites to illegal products and/or services may not be putting forth their best effort to do so. Refusing to properly address these issues may lead to major legal and financial consequences.

On his website recently, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood publicly asked Google to 'address issues on its [website] that are allowing users to obtain illegal and counterfeit goods, including dangerous drugs without a prescription.' See, 'Attorney General Hood Asking Google to Address Alleged Violations of Intellectual Property Rights.' According to Hood: '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.' Hood further stated: 'This behavior means that Google is putting consumers at risk and facilitating wrongdoing, all while profiting handsomely from illegal behavior.'

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