Japanese doctors demand damages from Google over "groundless" reviews

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TOKYO (AP) — A group of Japanese doctors has revenge a civilian suit against U.S. hunt elephantine Google, demanding damages for what they declare are unpoliced derogatory and often mendacious comments.

The lawsuit, revenge Thursday successful Tokyo District Court, demands 1.4 cardinal yen ($9,400) successful damages for 63 aesculapian professionals.

Google said successful an emailed connection Friday that it is moving “24 hours a day” to trim misleading aliases mendacious accusation connected its platform, combining quality and technological resources “to delete fraudulent reviews.”

The suit claims groundless antagonistic reviews person been posted connected Google Maps, a very celebrated app successful Japan, that allows group to constitute successful ratings of various institutions and their individual reviews.

Some comments are irresponsible and look to beryllium written retired of spite and nan “word of mouth” remarks return connected a life of their ain and are astir intolerable to refute, according to nan lawsuit.

It said Google has done very small to hole nan problem, contempt complaints.

“The harm suffered is substantial, and nan group person been powerless to conflict back. We don’t work together that nan level shares nary responsibility,” Yuichi Nakazawa, who leads nan ineligible squad for nan plaintiffs, told reporters.

Some Japanese opportunity they trust connected what group opportunity online astir hospitals, including really agelong nan hold was aliases what benignant of attraction they got, alternatively than charismatic sites. But those online comments whitethorn beryllium inaccurate and moreover detrimental to wellness care, those down nan suit say.

Japan boasts a comparatively wide and affordable wellness attraction system, making nan aesculapian assemblage a basking taxable successful one of nan fastest aging societies successful nan world.

Class actions are comparatively uncommon successful Japan, though Google has been sued successful nan U.S. and various different nations, accused of misleading advertising, violations of privateness and different problems.

Earlier this month, Google agreed to purge billions of records containing individual information collected from much than 136 cardinal group successful nan U.S. who had surfed nan net done its Chrome web browser. That was portion of a colony successful a U.S. suit that had accused Google of forbidden surveillance.

The suit successful Japan is intended to item nan imaginable dangers from Google’s technology, nan lawyers for nan aesculapian professionals say. The damages they are seeking are symbolic, astir 23,000 yen ($150) per plaintiff.

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Yuri Kageyama is connected X: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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apnews.com