{"id":68072,"date":"2020-08-10T05:36:15","date_gmt":"2020-08-10T03:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lhr-law.de\/?p=68072"},"modified":"2024-10-23T15:20:03","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T13:20:03","slug":"lhr-obtains-injunction-against-google-for-six-1-star-ratings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lhr-law.de\/en\/magazine-en\/negotiation-strategy-process-tactics\/lhr-obtains-injunction-against-google-for-six-1-star-ratings\/","title":{"rendered":"LHR obtains injunction against Google for six 1-star ratings"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Greg Bulla on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the request of Lampmann, Haberkamm & Rosenbaum Rechtsanw\u00e4lte, the Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main (LG Frankfurt\/Main, Beschluss vom 04.08.2020, Az. 2-03 O 279\/20<\/a>) issued an interim injunction<\/a> against Google.<\/em><\/p>\n

This prohibits the search engine operator from making six negative reviews<\/a> with one star publicly accessible in the applicant’s \u201cGoogle My Business\u201d profile.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In the event of non-compliance, a fine of up to \u20ac 250,000, or alternatively up to 6 months’ imprisonment for the managing director, may be imposed. The amount in dispute is \u20ac 50,000.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Frankfurt Regional Court agreed with our client that the reviews<\/a> violated their general right to privacy.<\/p>\n

Applicant did not know the assessors<\/h2>\n

This was because the respondent was unable to assign the reviewers to any business contact. As the user names under which the six negative reviews had been submitted consisted to a large extent of fantasy terms – in one case, for example, the name of an exotic cocktail – the applicant suspected that there might even be a concerted action by a competitor behind this.<\/p>\n

Regional court affirms Google’s liability for interference<\/h2>\n

In the opinion of the Regional Court, the defendant is liable for injunctive relief.<\/p>\n

In order to avoid liability as an indirect interferer, Google, as a host provider, is not generally obliged to check the posts made by users for possible infringements before publication. However, the company is responsible as soon as it becomes aware of the infringement. If an infringement of personal rights is alleged, an infringement of rights cannot be established without further ado due to the necessary consideration.<\/p>\n

Google did not respond out of court<\/h2>\n

In this case, however, the applicant had described the facts of the case to Google in detail several times and granted generous deadlines to remove the reviews. However, as Google did not respond apart from confirmations of receipt, which referred to longer processing times that were allegedly due to the coronavirus crisis, the applicant had to seek legal assistance.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, this was successful. Google must now delete the reviews immediately if it wants to avoid fines. Google was also ordered to pay the costs of the claim.<\/p>\n

Lawyer Arno Lampmann<\/a> from the law firm LHR:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe case shows that even the seemingly unassailable Internet giant Google does not operate in a legal vacuum and, in particular, can be successfully sued in German courts. \u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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