Google makes its money through search, ostensibly, but of course the real revenue itself is provided by advertising that’s sold in a manner that correlates it with search results. That’s a powerful system – you’re targeting an advertisement to somebody you already know is looking for exactly the thing you’re advertising – and Google makes a bundle at it. But it being the internet, some ads are, shall we say, less scrupulous than others.
I tried to find a picture of one such site, but apparently Google is being particularly careful about them now. So here's Chuckie.
Obviously, for Google, it must be tough to sort out the good from the bad, but you at least assume the company is doing what it can, especially since it puts out dozens of press releases stating exactly that. And it does appear to be doing what it can to fight digital file-sharing of the illegal variety. But there is more than one way to skin an illegal website.
They receive relatively little notice in the press, but sites advertising prescription drugs for sale on the internet have blossomed. The key thing to note is that they are offering prescription drugs, but NOT asking for prescriptions. Often they are based in Mexico – when you think of Mexican drug lords, you probably think of cocaine and marijuana, but there is a massive market for more accepted (and more widely used) prescription drugs from those who have been abandoned by the US health care market (a disturbingly large segment of the population). These sites rise and fall quickly, like the bigger download sites, because they are (quite obviously) illegal. That means they need to get the word out when they find a new home, and they do that through advertising – and Google encourages them.
Such is the result of a sting operation conducted by the Federal government which netted a half a billion dollar settlement from Google to avoid disclosing the results of the sting, which clearly indicated that Google sales reps (with the knowledge and consent f upper management) were not only allowing such fraudulent sites to pass through the filters, but teaching the agents posing as drug dealers how to avoid Google blocks on such behavior. That’s a major indictment of the company and yet another in a string of recent scandals afflicting Google since Larry Page took over as CEO.
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