The People Sue Google

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Google has pleaded not guilty to charges that it has destroyed common sense.  Defence lawyers argue that it is a self-inflicted condition that does not have anything to do with the search engine. After all, it’s a free country/world.  People are free to smoke, drink and do whatever they like with their bodies.  

Lawyers for the people are not buying it. They believe it is similar to smoking cases, where cigarette companies were found guilty of encouraging people to smoke, knowing quite well the adverse consequences.

Google’s legal teams also argue that ‘Googling’ something does not affect one’s lungs like smoking. Lawyers for the people say it does affect overall health, including health of third parties such as drinking and driving, which continues to kill people.  

Google vs. The People.  Health was the main issue in the smoking cases.  Common sense is the bull’s eye in this 2022 case, but the problem is that it is in the eye of the beholder. Someone leaves a child in the bath to fetch a phone.  She scrolls down her messages and favourite movie stars for a few minutes. The child drowns. She sues the maker of the bath tub, not herself.

Winter.  Boots on the floor at work.  Someone leaves one boot in the hallway.  Five people walk over it as they check their phones. One person doesn’t. She trips and falls. The back injury is so serious she sues the company for negligence.

Summer.  Bicycles. There is no law that regulates bicycles. They are free agents, free to plough through people waiting for the bus at busy intersections such as Portage Avenue and Donald Street.  They are free to do what they like on pavements and roads.  

Someone is texting and riding a bicycle.  He comes from nowhere and a car hits him.  He dies on the spot. Statistics. Legislation has not stopped the number of deaths because of texting and driving.

The court is in recess but both legal teams are behind closed doors crafting the definition of common sense because it will decide the winner.  Yahoo, Bing and other search engines are following Google Vs. The People very closely because it might also affect them.    

By:  Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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