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Seattle surgeon pays $5 mil fine for review fraud; What responsibility does Google have?

Allure Esthetics and its owner Dr. Java Sagan, were convicted of violating the Consumer Review Fairness Act. They forced 21,000 clients to sign agreements preventing them from leaving honest reviews and engaged in additional deceptive practices like paying for the removal of negative reviews and posting fake ones.

Despite a $5 million fine, Allure Esthetics still shows high ratings on Google and Yelp. Google’s failure to address these fake reviews, raises questions about the platform’s responsibility under Section 230, which currently shields it from liability.

This case highlights the need for changes to Section 230 to better protect consumers and maintain trust in online reviews.

Local Search increasingly shows Google GBP results & extensively highlight Google self preferencing 

In a recent AI-driven experiment the local results included numerous horizontally scrolling pack of restaurant types and related local categories, with images and reviews. Most all results in this test took users to further Google searches rather than external sites

In Europe, current local search results showed significantly more Google self-referencing content, raising questions about regulatory compliance. The variations in local search displays across different European countries, suggests that Google's approach might be influenced by regional regulatory strategies.

Despite the heavy Google-centric content, local businesses still benefited from visibility. However, the trend of zero-click searches, where users find all needed information without leaving Google, highlights the increasing prominence of Google's own services in local search outcomes.
The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.
Ep 165

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