Google must pay defamed man $200k

The judge rejected Google's claim that it was not a publisher. Source: AFP

A MELBOURNE man has been awarded a $200,000 payout after Google linked his photograph to one of Australia's most notorious underworld figures.

In what is believed to be an Australian legal first, a Victorian Supreme Court jury found the search engine defamed the man by publishing his image alongside a picture of Tony Mokbel and linking his name to stories about an unsolved murder.

The man, a former music promoter and prominent member of Melbourne's Yugoslav community, claimed the results of a Google search of his name implied he was a figure so prominent in the criminal underworld that his rivals hired a hitman to kill him.

He claimed the search results placed him "in the same league as Tony Mokbel, an alleged murderer and a drug trafficker, and Dennis Tanner, an alleged murderer".

In his judgment, Justice Barry Beach said the man was "entitled to an award of damages that vindicates him" and that $200,000 was the appropriate amount.

In a statement released today, a Google spokesperson said search results were a reflection of the content and information available on the internet.

"The sites in Google's search results are controlled by those sites' webmasters, not by Google," he said.

The man was previously awarded $225,000 after successfully suing Yahoo for defamation.

He survived being shot in the back in a St Albans restaurant by an unknown gunman in June 2004.

He was dining with his elderly mother when shot. The gunman fled after his pistol jammed on its second shot.

Justice Beach rejected Google's argument that it was not a publisher, which may have broad implications for Google and other search engines.

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