Malicious reviews

[Chippy Driver]

My company is suffering from malicious posts in the form of reviews on Google and from a spoof web site set up outside the UK. Has anyone any experience of getting Google to block these reviews or otherwise been able to solve this sort of problem?

[srobarts]

I have found filling in their feedback form does not get a response, so it may be worth contacting their UK office and speaking to a human being.

Google London
Google UK Ltd
Belgrave House
76 Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 9TQ
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0)20-7031-3000
Fax: +44 (0)20-7031-3001

[Cap Loko]

The best Google can do is to remove said sites from their search results but that will certainly be a long process. Even then, these sites might still show up in yahoo, bing etc. Of course, the sites remain to exist in this case.

Your best bet may be to contact WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organization (http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en) if you haven't done so and see if there are any possibilities.

Another way might be to contact the registrar of the domainname of said malicious sites as these sites could be violating the registrars terms of use. Check Domain Tools: Whois Lookup and Domain Suggestions (http://www.domaintools.com)

[x213a]

A landmark ruling the other day was made when a model was subject to malicious gossip on a blog. Google was ordered to dislclose the IP of the perpetrator.

Vogue model v Google: Blogger who called her a 'whore' forced to unmask in landmark ruling | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1207669/Vogue-model-v-Google-Blogger-called-whore-forced-unmask-landmark-ruling.html)

[mrsurrey]

I suggest the fastest way to get a result may be to do the whois lookup Cap Loko suggested and then get a lawyer to write a very nasty "cease or desist" letter, mentioning "unlimited fines" and "Incarceration".

If you can't get the personal information from the whois lookup (they may have used an intermediary company to protect their identity) just approach the intermediary (they won't put up fight).

The above is all without any warranty and let us know how you get on!

(The aim of the above is to get the content taken down. I also suggest you look into suing for damages - free money!)

[Bushfiva]

You could email Matt Cutts on the offchance he might reply. He's responsible in general for the quality of Googles search results, in particular with sites gaming the system. He might have a word of wisdom for you.