I am not a lawyer either, but the burden of proof would rest on the consumer who may claim that he or she was harmed directly due to Google Health’s advertising. I think that would be very difficult to prove.

For example, a consumer with cancer sees an advertiser through Google Adsense or Google Health and clicks on the ad that said, “These Herbal Tabs Cure Your Cancer!” Consumer clicks through and purchases product. Product causes injury to consumer. Who does the consumer sue? The product manufacturer seems to be the clearest and most direct target. Consumer can sue Google for facilitating it, but I’m not sure how the law works in this case.

Given Google’s size and power, I’m sure it has massive legal teams who scrutinize the company’s liability in this matter. The fact that Google hasn’t done as much as consumers would like it to do in healthcare advertising may suggest that Google isn’t too concerned about its ability – yet (but I’m speculating).

Jane Chin

I cited this example to Bob Coffield at Health Care Law Blog and asked him about its implications for Google Health (as we understand it based on press releases, etc.).

Here’s my actual post:

Nakedmedicine.com raised an issue about Google Health Co-Op that I think has implications for Google Health – namely that their advertising-based revenue model puts them into an ethical gray area.

I’m not sure if that’s the best example, but hopefully you understand my point. Does Google Health’s apparent aspirations put the company at risk?

I’m not a lawyer, but it would seem to me that whatever liability Google be taking on would increase if they show a pattern of not addressing bogus advertisements that were *specifically* targeting healthcare consumers.