24 State Attorney Generals Talk with Google About Protecting Consumers from Fake Online Pharmacies
Have you registered for our annual conference on September 18th?
Don’t miss the 2014 Interchange with keynote speaker Howard Sklamberg, FDA’s Deputy Director. Early bird discounted registration is still available!
Click here to register today.
Attorneys general from several states want to make it more difficult for search engine users to find fake online pharmacies using their search engine. The Washington Post reports that a letter sent to Google signed by 24 top state prosecutors has led to 2 meetings with representatives of the company.
Terms such as “online pharmacy” or “no prescription” will turn up results that include fake online pharmacies that can be found on the NABP’s “not recommended” list. The Washington Post is reporting 24 Attorneys General have written a formal letter to Google requesting that they block illegal sites from search results.
As a result of their efforts, representatives from Google met with top state prosecutors in two private meetings held in Washington, the Washington Post reports.
The attorneys general want links to offending websites removed from search results, according to the letter they sent to Google, which precipitated these meetings. In part, they expressed concern about “the promotion of illegal and prescription-free drugs” via Google search results.
Google responded in correspondence dated February 21 to their concerns, describing how “the substantial decrease in counterfeit ads appearing in AdWords was mostly attributable to enhancements made to our automated systems by a small team of talented engineers who specialize in identifying band content for removal.”
The Washington Post further states that though some attorneys general from the group are satisfied with Google’s efforts, others feel that Google can do much more to protect users from dangerous or illegal content. As Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood opined, “…until someone stops them, they’re going to continue making billions [from dangerous and illegal content].”