Advertiser Files Complaint To Block Google Click Fraud Settlement

One Google advertiser is making a very formal rejection of the proposed
Google click fraud settlement — he’s filed a complaint to try and block the
agreement, and this before notifications from Google have even gone out.

Let’s go back, then forward. It was
announced
last March, given
preliminary approval by the judge in April, and now Google is supposed to
notify advertisers about the settlement by May 20. To date, I’ve not seen or
heard anything about notices going out.

Last week, I wrote in
Advertisers To
Get Notices From Google In Click Fraud Settlement Later This Month more
about how advertisers will need to opt-out of the settlement, if they don’t like
it — and how at least one was against it.

Ex-Google
Advertiser Sues Over Settlement from the Associated Press today covers how a
different advertiser is also against it, to the point of having filed a formal
complaint asking that the case be blocked.

For its part, Google issued a statement saying the complaint is may be
motivated "more by the quest for attorney fees." Of course, the same could be
said about the case being settled for what many feel is a cheap price, $90
million — 1/3 of which will go to attorney fees.

Want to know more about the proposed deal? The agreement is
here
(PDF), and the order giving preliminary agreement is
here.

Meanwhile, the law firm pushing for advertisers to stay out sent this release
to me today:

DON’T FEAR GOOGLE, SAY CLICK FRAUD ATTORNEYS; ADVERTISERS HAVE ONLY DAYS TO
OPT OUT OF CLICK FRAUD CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

LOS ANGELES, CALIF.–Advertisers have only days to opt out of a click fraud
settlement agreement negotiated between Google and attorneys representing
Google advertisers (Lane?s Gifts and Collectibles LLC, et al., v. Yahoo! Inc.,
et al.). Of the $90 million proposed settlement, $30 million will go to
plaintiffs’ attorneys. Only a fraction of the remaining $60 million will be
distributed to Google advertisers, says Dylan Pollard, a Los Angeles-based
plaintiffs’ click fraud attorney, giving advertisers less than a penny for
every $100 they can prove is lost through future click fraud abuses while
advertising with Google.

Resources

Analytics The 2023 B2B Superpowers Index

Analytics Data Analytics in Marketing

Digital Marketing The Third-Party Data Deprecation Playbook

Digital Marketing Utilizing Email To Stop Fraud-eCommerce Client Fraud Case Study

"Advertisers must decide: take the pennies offered by Google and be happy
with the status quo or opt out and pursue legal restitution through a
lawsuit," says Pollard. "Either way, they don’t have much time to decide."

Pollard and attorney Shawn Khorrami have created a website,

http://www.clickfraud-legal-center.com/ that includes a sample opt out
letter for advertisers.

"Advertisers could very well decide to absorb their losses and hope Google
cleans up its act. Google is so powerful, advertisers may be afraid to
challenge the company," explains Khorrami. "But if advertisers want to try to
get their lost dollars back, the current settlement proposal isn’t for them;
previous losses are not addressed in the settlement. To try to obtain
compensation from past click fraud abuse with Google, advertisers need to be
pro-active. To start the process, they must opt out of the proposed
settlement."

For further information on the Google settlement and advertiser options,
advertisers can go to
http://www.clickfraud-legal-center.com/ or call 866-546-7266

Keep in mind that you don’t have to opt-out through this site. In fact, it’s
difficult to opt-out when Google doesn’t appear to have even sent settlement
notifications yet. I’m checking on the situation with that and will postscript.