The ACCC has upped the ante in its claim against Google, with the watchdog now broadening its claims of misleading and deceptive conduct for Google’s entire Australian business. The ACCC is now claiming that all of Google’s paid advertising (which appears on the right hand side of its results page) is misleading and deceptive, as the search engine does not adequately distinguish between paid advertisements and non-commercial search results.

The ACCC’s original action centred around Google’s use of certain names (specifically car dealers Kloster Ford and Charlestown Toyota) in relation to advertisements for the Trading Post.

The AFR noted that in September the judge presiding over the case, Justice Allsop, criticised the ACCC for “delivering a prolix and irritating summary of its case and ordered that the ACCC file its claims in no more than two pages, double spaced.”

While the ACCC’s claim may not be entirely without merit, it would seem that the damage resulting from Google’s alleged breaches is minimal. Theoretically, Google should be able to, if it wanted, totally immerse paid and non-paid advertising in its search results.

There is no law or rule which requires search engines to distinguish between the two. (Although if a search engine were to provide such results, arguably, users would turn away due to reduced relevance). If Google is able to provide the most accurate search results, the fact that the results on one part of the page are paid for, while the other part of the page are organic, is absolutely irrelevant.

It would be fair to suggest that the ACCC has better things to do with its precious resources than to pursue Google over a matter that, in reality, doesn’t hurt anyone. Perhaps someone could mention to the ACCC that they might be better off bringing an action against the big banks, who continue to charge customers literally billions of dollars each year in what are technically illegal fees without so much as a slap on the wrist.