The effect of the Google Bomb has been covered on 1.1 million websites and blogs around the world, and it's not surprising to see comments about its effects and the people or organisations which have been targeted in the past. In an astonishing series of events, a renowned Spanish blogger, Julio Alonso, has pleaded guilty for comments made by others on his personal blog, Merodeando.com, back in 2004, that linked to Spanish piracy watchdog, SGAE, with the anchor text 'ladrones' (thieves in Spanish).Through Google bombing, a website can achieve top positions in Google for a certain term even if the search term is not mentioned on the site. This is due to the importance that search engines like Google place on the anchor text pointing to a site. As reported by bigmouthmedia in January 2007, the effect of the Google Bomb was defused due to a change in the algorithm, but in certain cases like 'SGAE = ladrones' its effects can still be seen on the search engine giant.
Julio Alonso is the CEO of Weblogs Ltd, a company which owns 25 blogs and attracts eight million unique visitors per month, according to Nielsen. Indeed, Alonso is a very popular blogger in Spain who has participated in conferences, such as OME Madrid back in March this year.
SGAE is a Spanish organisation which defends the rights of Authors and Publishers and was founded over one hundred years ago. One of its main functions is to combat copyright infringement, such as illegal copies of music, films or video games. SGAE declares itself a non-profit organisation but in 2007 alone it reported record earnings of €377 million. The group has also generated unpopularity due to the high fees the authors themselves have to pay, which feed down to the consumer in the form of increased high street prices for videos, CDs, books and more
This general unpopularity of SGAE meant that it was prey to a Google Bomb in 2004 - just the tip of the iceberg following a series of public protests. Since 2004, when searching for the word 'ladrones' on Google, the SGAE website occupies the first and second position. Merodeando.com, Alonso's personal blog, is currently in third position.
In a sentence without legal precedent in Spain, the blogger Julio Alonso has been found guilty and condemned to pay a fine of €9,000, plus legal costs. The sentence condemns Julio, alleging that 22 comments posted by other users on his blog had damaged the 'honour' of SGAE. Luckily though, Alonso still has the right to appeal against this sentence.
The implications of the verdict for all Spanish bloggers are huge. First of all, it demonstrates that you can be sued for a comment made by others on your website. Secondly, it indicates that you can still be sued if the post was published years ago. And last but not least, it opens a big question mark about freedom of expression in Spain. The case is still open.
