A group of 63 doctors filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court on Thursday against Google seeking ¥1.45 million (about $9,400) in compensation for causing harm to their businesses through what they described as one-sided, hateful reviews for their clinics on Google Maps.
The suit is the first in Japan — and possibly the world — to target a platform rather than the individuals who posted the reviews, lawyers of the plaintiffs said.
Yuichi Nakazawa, one of the lawyers representing the doctors, told a news conference that the main purpose of the lawsuit is not to seek compensation for damages caused by the poor reviews but instead to raise awareness over various problems with the Google Maps system.
“People often misunderstand that I’m taking these actions because I want bad reviews about me to be deleted, but that is not the case,” added the doctor leading the plaintiff group, who asked to remain anonymous for privacy reasons.
The lawsuit was filed by a group of doctors, dentists, medical clinics and veterinary clinics from across the nation whose patients left poor reviews and hateful comments on the review section of Google Maps while also giving out low ratings.
They sought ¥23,000 each in damages, totaling ¥1.45 million in total.
