USA: Search
Engines ordered to stop misleading mortgage relief ads
The Making Home Affordable
Program aims at helping eligible home-owners to refinance or modify their
mortgages, so that they can afford to stay
in their homes. The
official website (http://makinghomeaffordable.gov)
provides information about the program. Starting in April 2009 misleading ads
appeared on search engines. When consumers searched for "making home affordable",
ads were shown that displayed the web address
http://makinghomeaffordable.gov. But when
they clicked on the ad, they were not directed to the government web site, but
instead to another web site offering loan modification services for a fee. The
FTC filed a lawsuit against unknown parties, because the defendants are not
identified in the ads. At their request, the District Court for the District of
Columbia issued a temporary restraining order that requires four search engine
providers (among them Google and Yahoo) to identify those who placed the ads and
to refuse ads containing
http://makinghomeaffordable.gov or any
other domain name containing .gov.
The documents related to the case can be
found at:
http://ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923147/index.shtm.