100 cases settled in Google rankings scam action
A series of cases brought by almost 100 business owners in the Australian state of Victoria have been settled out of court.
Most of the cases did not proceed to a court decision
The actions were raised against Publicity Monster. The claimants argued they had been scammed into paying the company to receive higher search rankings on Google.
Only one of the cases reached the court to a final decision.
"We try and negotiate individual outcomes for all those consumers, which takes time and effort and it's not the most efficient way to resolve the issue,” said Consumer Action Law Centre chief executive Gerard Brody.
"There shouldn't be such a high bar, particularly where numerous people are suffering significant consequences that are similar. That should be enough to show there has been unfair trading and a regulator could go and take action."
The actions began in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in July.