Google is facing fresh claims that the US authorities repeatedly warned the company it was running ads from illegal online pharmacies – offering everything from fake Viagra to penis enlargement drugs – but carried on taking the money.
According to reports in the US, federal prosecutors are investigating whether Google employees knowingly accepted ads from illegal online pharmacies. If the employees were aware, it could lead to charges that the company aided illegal behaviour.
Google is said to have earmarked $500m to settle a criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice into claims that it made hundreds of millions of dollars from ads purchased by illegal online pharmacies. The latest report says that undercover agents representing the Food & Drug Administration contacted Google posing as employees of illegal online drug sellers.
According to a 2008 study from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), some 96 per cent of online drug sellers were violating laws. In 1999, the group created a verification programme designed to eliminate ads from illegal drug sellers, but Google did not adopt the programme until 2010; neither did Microsoft nor Yahoo!.
In a September 2010 blog post, Google said it was filing a lawsuit against advertisers it believed had broken its ad rules, and the company acknowledged that such pharmacies had been a problem for years.
“It’s been an ongoing, escalating cat-and-mouse game – as we and others build new safeguards and guidelines, rogue online pharmacies always try new tactics to get around those protections and illegally sell drugs on the web,” wrote Google lawyer Michael Zwibelman.
“In recent years, we have noticed a marked increase in the number of rogue pharmacies, as well an increasing sophistication in their methods. This has meant that despite our best efforts – from extensive verification procedures, to automated keyword blocking, to changing our ads policies – a small percentage of pharma ads from these rogue companies is still appearing on Google.”
