Google is suspending its ‘trending’ alert service in New Zealand after being heavily criticized for publishing the name of the suspect in the high-profile murder of a young British backpacker.
Google had refused to tighten publication standards after it sent an email to users in December that named a man accused of killing a British backpacker, Grace Millane, in violation of a suppression order.
This week New Zealand’s justice minister, Andrew Little, accused Google of “giving the middle finger” to the court system and to Millane’s family. He said a one-paragraph response from Google that had indicated no action was pending was “contemptible” and “extraordinarily disrespectful”.
On Friday Google said it respected New Zealand law, there had been a “miscommunication” and it was taking the issue seriously.
“We understand the sensitivity around this issue and we have suspended Google Trends emails about searches trending in New Zealand,” a Google spokeswoman said in an email.
Google had earlier written to New Zealand Justice Minister Andrew Little advising him of the decision after Little on Wednesday urged the company not to be “evil” and to “do the right thing” to prevent more breaches.
“Don’t be evil” was a company motto.
The company said it respected New Zealand law and understood the sensitivity of the issue.
“This … provides even further assurance against any recurrence,” Ross Young, Google’s government affairs and public policy manager, said in the letter to Little, whose office released the letter.
Google also wrote to Little, apologizing for any “miscommunication” and said in part, “We understand the need to protect the right to a fair trial and acknowledge that this is a fundamental part of the legal system.”
