Google sued for "blacklisting" websites

By Aussiegirl

No sooner said than did -- Google has been sued by the companies that have been "blacklisted". This should be interesting.

Web site sues over Google 'blacklist' - Tech News & Reviews - MSNBC.com

Google Inc.'s mysterious methods for ranking Web sites came under attack Friday in a lawsuit accusing the online search engine leader of ruining scores of Internet businesses that have been wrongfully banished from its index.

The civil complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose by KinderStart.com, seeks to be certified as a class action representing the owners of all Web sites blacklisted by Google's Internet-leading search engine since January 2001.

KinderStart, a Norwalk-based Web site devoted to information about children, says it was dropped from Google's index a year ago without warning.
"The world is becoming increasingly 'Googlized,'" said Gregory Yu, a lawyer for KinderStart. "For most people, that has been a good thing, but not for everyone."

The case aims at Google's heart — its tightly guarded formula for ranking Web sites.