by Nick Jardine
A BBC investigation has revealed thatGoogle is profiting by advertising illegal tickets to this summer’s Olympic games.
The situation was brought to light when one consumer called a BBC radio station to complain that she had been hassled out of £750 ($1,160) after buying tickets from a sponsored link provided by Google’s AdWord service. The consumer was unable to get her money back while Google kept the advertising revenue from the sponsored link.
According to the BBC, fines for the unauthorized selling of Olympic tickets can reach up to £20,000 ($31,000)
The Telegraph also reported that it took a week for Google to remove the ad, which it only did after London’s Metropolitan Police got involved. The company says that since the police brought this situation to its attention, it has removed several ads for Olympic tickets from unauthorized vendors.
According to the Financial Times, the investigation also uncovered ads on Google for marijuana, fake British passports and fake British identification cards.
Posted in: BI
