A Milan judge has found Google Italy guilty of defamation because of the way its search engine linked the name of an Italian businessman to the word "fraud" and has ordered the company to modify the operation of its Autocomplete service.

The ruling by Judge Roberto Bichi was published March 24 and rejects a Google appeal against an earlier Milan court ruling that upheld the complaint of a businessman, identified in press reports Tuesday only as "AB." Bichi also ordered the company to pay a total of €3,800 ($5,550) in costs and damages.

AB, an entrepreneur in the financial services sector who uses the Internet to promote his business, complained that Google's Suggest search/Autocomplete function linked his name to the words "fraud" and "fraudster" (truffa and truffatore).

More: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215549/