How To Fight Back Against “Google Bombing”

Welcome to the world of modern communication where personal attacks have now reached cyberspace.

You may have first heard of this trend as part of cyberbullying, where school kids will set up a website designed to spread unfounded rumours about another youngster in their class, then send that address to as many people as possible.

The same thing can happen when someone winds up with a grudge against a specific company.

But it’s truly harmful and painful when it happens to an innocent individual.

It’s called Google bombing, a technique that allows a specific webpage to turn up at the top of the famed engine’s search results.

It was used most famously by some Republican foes to get the term ‘utter failure’ to point to a site openly critical of U.S. President George W. Bush, a listing which came out on the top of the first page.

But how do you get the offending information off the Internet?

Depending on who you’re dealing with, it’s not always easy.

Google has a policy of not removing pages that are in its rankings.

“We don’t condone the practice of Google bombing, or any other action that seeks to affect the integrity of our search results, but we’re also reluctant to alter our results by hand in order to prevent such items from showing up,” the web giant explains on its blog.

“Pranks like this may be distracting to some, but they don’t affect the overall quality of our search service, whose objectivity, as always, remains the core of our mission.”

But you may have some other remedies.

Most Internet Service Providers, who link you up to the Internet and host websites, have an abuse department. A site such as whois.com allows you to search out a domain name (like Citynews.ca) and find out who owns it.

Sending an email to the head of the company that hosts a webpage, along with the address where the offending text appears, can sometimes result in it being taken down.

There’s also a site called claimid.com, which allows you to register which webpages that show up in Google are actually approved by you and aren’t the efforts of a third – and often malicious – party. 

There’s a final option, but it’s more expensive.

Recent legal precedent suggests what’s published on the web can be subject to libel and slander laws.

If the page that’s attacking you is causing major problems and you can prove the information being posted is untrue, you may want to consult a lawyer and sue the person behind the claims.

This can be generally effective if the web hosting company is in North America or within reach. But if the company is in some foreign country, forcing those in charge to take it down can prove a lot more problematic.

If you’re unsure what someone has written about you – or if you’ve forgotten what you’ve put up there yourself – it’s always a good idea to Google your own name and see what’s online about you.

Many employers now regularly use the search engine to scout out prospective employees and if they find some rant you left about a previous company you worked for, they may be less likely to consider hiring you to fill an open position.