[governance] regulating the digital space - whose laws apply, and whose do not

[parminder]

The below may be  a good addition to the context in which this list has 
been discussing the application of local laws and regulations to global 
digital space/ business, vis a vis the power of different countries/ 
jurisdiction to apply their law, especially for the more legitimate 
purposes as in the below case.

My point is, will a developing country, especially a small one, be able 
to penalise google and make it behave as the UG gov could. (See the 
earleir instance of Taipie city government versus google). Is it not a 
major global IG issue?

parminder

http://governancenow.com/gov-next/egov/google-agrees-usd-500-million-settlement-over-pharmacy-adds


    Google agrees to USD 500 million settlement over pharmacy adds

PTI | August 25 2011

Internet search giant Google has agreed to pay USD 500 million to settle 
charges that it allowed Canadian pharmacies to place ads on its website 
that resulted in prescription drugs being imported from Canada to the US 
unlawfully.

The Justice Department said the forfeiture is "one of the largest ever 
in the United States" and represents the gross revenue received by 
Google as a result of Canadian pharmacies advertising through its 
'AdWords' programme, plus gross revenue made by Canadian pharmacies from 
their sales of controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs to US 
consumers.

"The Department of Justice will continue to hold accountable companies 
who in their bid for profits violate federal law and put at risk the 
health and safety of American consumers," Deputy Attorney General James 
Cole said in a statement on Wednesday.

The settlement ensures that Google will reform its "improper advertising 
practices with regard to these pharmacies while paying one of the 
largest financial forfeiture penalties in history," Cole said. Google 
said it "accepts" responsibility for its conduct, acknowledging that it 
improperly assisted Canadian online pharmacy advertisers to run 
advertisements on its site.

Under the terms of an agreement signed by Google and the government, 
Google must also undertake a number of compliance and reporting measures 
to insure it does not indulge in such practices in the future.

An investigation by the US Attorney’s Office in Rhode Island had found 
that Google was aware as early as 2003 that online Canadian pharmacies 
were advertising prescription drugs to Google users in the US through 
its AdWords advertising programme.
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