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Google LLC v Defteros
Court	High Court of Australia
Decided	17 August 2022 (appeal) 30 April 2020 (initial)
Citations	[2022] HCA (appeal) [2020] VSC 219 (initial)
Case history
Appealed from	Supreme Court of Victoria
Keywords
Defamation Hyperlink Search engine Google

Google LLC v Defteros was a defamation case in Australia brought by a lawyer against Google.

George Defteros is a lawyer, with much of his work being representing defendant gang members. Defteros successfully sued Google after it failed to take down a story that he said had defamed him, however, Google appealed the case to the High Court, represented by Johnson Winter Slattery.

On 30 April 2020, the Supreme Court of Victoria found in the case of Defteros v Google LLC VSC 219 that Google could be held liable for defamation in Australia. "The Court held that Google does publish webpages reached by clicking on hyperlinks within Google search results. The resolution of the publication issue was a necessary step to Google’s liability; Google succeeded on some defences and failed on others. Defteros was awarded $40,000." Google argued that the ruling would force it to censor the internet.

Upon appeal, on 17 August 2022, the High Court ruled that Google is not a publisher and the provision of a hyperlink merely facilitates access. A joint statement by Chief Justice Susan Kiefel and Justice Jacqueline Gleeson said, “In reality, a hyperlink is merely a tool which enables a person to navigate to another webpage."

References

1. Naomi Neilson (17 August 2021), Melbourne criminal lawyer reprimanded for holding client files, failing to provide costs estimate, Lawyers Weekly, archived from the original on 17 August 2022, retrieved 17 August 2022
2. "Melbourne gangland lawyer George Defteros wins defamation case against Google". the Guardian. Australian Associated Press. April 30, 2020. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
3. "Is Google a publisher? That is the question the High Court is being asked to consider". ABC News. May 2, 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2022-08-17 – via www.abc.net.au.
4. Dam, TuAnh (August 17, 2022). "Australian court rules Google is not a publisher in major defamation suit win for tech giant". Axios. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
5. Cameronne, Cindy (2022-08-17). "In defamation victory, High Court finds Google not a publisher". Lawyerly. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
6. "Defteros v Google LLC [2020] VSC 219". Jade.io. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
7. Douglas M., Tharby A., and Border J. (May 7, 2020). "Google as publisher of everything defamatory on the internet: Defteros v Google LLC [2020] VSC 219". Bennett + Co. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. Rob Thubron (24 January 2022), Google warns that defamation case ruling will force it to 'censor' the internet. The implications could be far-reaching, Techspot, archived from the original on 31 January 2022, retrieved 17 August 2022
9. "High Court finds Google is not a publisher in crucial win for search engine". ABC News. 2022-08-17. Archived from the original on 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
10. Elizabeth Byrne (17 August 2022), High Court finds Google is not a publisher in crucial win for search engine, ABC News Australia, archived from the original on 2022-08-17, retrieved 2022-08-17
11. "Google v Defteros: High Court refines defamation law concerning hyperlinks". Gilbert + Tobin. 27 November 2023.
12. "Australia's top court finds Google not liable for defamation". Reuters. 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2022-08-19.

• Australian defamation case law
• Censorship
• Defamation
• Google litigation
• High Court of Australia cases
• Intellectual property law
• Internet case law
• Australian case law
• Privacy