Judge Tells Chevron to Remove Sponsored Links to Website about Case
A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered Chevron to take down sponsored Google links to a website providing the company’s spin on an incident that resulted in the death of a Nigerian villager and a lawsuit under the Alien Tort Claims Act.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston had issued a gag order in the case, and told lawyers yesterday that the sponsored links were the same thing as giving a statement to the press, the Recorder reports. The links appear when an Internet user types in a Google search using the name of the lead plaintiff.
Opening statements are slated to begin today. The plaintiffs claim wrongful death and injuries for the incident in May 1998, which began when a group of Nigerian villagers took over a Chevron oil platform. Chevron called the Nigerian military, which shot several people.
The plaintiffs say the incident was a peaceful protest while Chevron claims it was a hostage incident. The suit is the second alien tort case to go to trial that claims a large corporation acted with foreign governments to harm local residents, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
