The Latest in IT Security

A Hong Kong court has ruled that a local tycoon can sue Google Inc for defamation because searches for his name on Google suggest adding the word triad, Hong Kongs notorious organized crime groups. Searches in both English and Chinese for Albert Yeung Sau-shing, the founder and chairman of Hong Kong-based conglomerate Emperor Group, will automatically suggest phrases related to organized crime using Googles autocomplete function. On Tuesday, the High Court of Hong Kong dismissed Googles argument that it was not responsible for the autocomplete suggestions related to Yeung and that the court did not have personal jurisdiction over the U.S. search giant. Google frequently finds itself embroiled in legal issues over what results are shown by its search engine.