Free Republic

A Miller County circuit judge has approved a $90 million settlement in a class-action case against Internet search engine leader Google. Circuit Judge Joe Griffin said the settlement was fair and reasonable. It includes $30 million to the lawyers representing businesses that alleged Google didn't do enough to prevent so-called click fraud on its site.

.....the Internet search giant is disclosing to advertisers the number of bogus clicks it detects but doesn't charge for. Google hopes the disclosure will ease advertisers' concerns........... Advertisers have sued the company, which is awaiting approval for a $90 million click-fraud settlement...... Click fraud poses a big risk to Google's $6 billion-a-year advertising business, because advertisers can't be sure that someone is looking at their ad. A company that buys an ad on Google or its partner sites pays each time someone clicks on their advertised link. Fraudsters undermine this system by repeatedly clicking on an ad or using a...

SUN VALLEY, Idaho (AP) -- Swindlers have stepped up their effort to fleece millions of dollars from online advertisers who use lucrative marketing networks run by Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., according to a quarterly report to be released Monday. The sales referrals generated by clicks on the brief advertising links popularized by the two Internet powerhouses are a sham 14.1 percent of the time, based on information collected from 1,300 online marketers. That's up from a click fraud rate of 13.7 percent three months ago, according to Click Forensics, a San Antonio-based consulting service that compiles the index. The...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Google Inc. has agreed to pay up to $90 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the online search engine leader overcharged thousands of advertisers who paid for bogus sales referrals generated through a ruse known as "click fraud." The proposed settlement, announced by the company Wednesday, would apply to all advertisers in Google's network during the past four years. Any Web site showing improper charges dating back to 2002 will be eligible for an account credit that could be used toward future ads distributed by Google. The total value of the credits available to advertisers will...