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Google Getting Rich off Essay-mills?

Posted: 06/02/09

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After receiving lavish praise for banning Academic Aids from its Adwords service, it seems Google still aren’t effectively upholding their own policy, according to Nottingham-based company UKEssays.com

Adwords allows people to pay to place their advert at the top of the search engines - the results appear in the highlighted 'Sponsored Link' box at the top and also in a panel on the right hand side under 'Sponsored Links'. If a user clicks on the advertisement, the advertiser pays a fee.

Google restricts a number of products and services from advertising on Adwords – ads that promote explosives, violence, alcohol, drugs, and academic aids are just some of these.

But since Google introduced the Academic Aid ban in May 2007, many essay writing companies have continued to use the service.

Initially this was just under the guise of 'essay editing' but over time, certain essay websites started to creep back into the sponsored results.

Type 'Essay Writing' into Google and a whole range of essay writing companies appear, including
* UK Essays&Dissertations - 1st Class & 2:1 Essays Advice & Tutorials by Experts - EssayAcademy

* Writing Is Our Profession - US & UK PhD & Master’s Writers Will Resolve All Your Writing Problems - GPA Labs

“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH” says UKEssays

Nottingham based writing company UK Essays has brought this to Google’s attention on countless occasions. In one response to a mail from UKEssays (which included a screenshot highlighting one of the above companies and their policy infringements over a period of time), Google replied:

"While I can completely understand your frustration, and the relevance and necessity of your concern, I would like to let you know of the following things: Both the screen-shots that you have sent, have been escalated to the concerned team and please be assured that the necessary action will be taken. I greatly appreciate your efforts to make Google, a safe and a clean place for advertising".

Nearly 3 months later, these adverts remain.

Distortion of Competition - Too Much Power?

UK Essays object to the advertisements remaining because they distort competition by allowing some companies to advertise and not others.

As UKEssays has told Google repeatedly since May 2007, Google have made their agreement with their advertisers subject to English law, and therefore also subject to European Law.

Under the EC Treaty Article 82, monopolies are prohibited: the Article prevents the abuse of firms' dominant market positions. Abuse includes (inter alia) "directly or indirectly imposing unfair trading conditions" and "applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage".

As Google held a 65% market share in 2007, they certainly qualify as having a dominant position in the UK. Under EU law it has "a special responsibility not to allow its conduct to impair competition on the common market".

Google, a holder of a dominant position in the search engine industry, has banned some essay companies from advertising their services on one hand, but continued to allow certain selective essay companies to advertise on the other. Google's ban has been in place for close to two years, and yet the evidence suggests they still aren’t taking it seriously.

“Their willingness to continue to enjoy the revenues these adverts generate, and their lack of investment in policing the policy across the board, is an abuse of their dominant market position,” says UKEssays spokesperson Jennifer Wiss. “You can easily find these companies advertising in Adwords by doing a simple search for terms like Essay Help, Dissertation, or even Academic Aids, the very thing Google claim to have banned.”

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About UKEssays
Ever since we launched the first dedicated custom essay writing service website in April 2003, our experts have consistently helped our clients improve their grades. As the true innovators of the UK essays market and the first ever providers of guaranteed 1st class and 2:1 standard essays, we have continuously honed and refined our service, to ensure the consistent provision of excellence and innovation to you, our valued customer.

For more information, including a list of essay-writing services using Adwords, please contact our press officer:
Karl Brown
Tel: 01623491010
Email: karl@academicanswers.co.uk
http://www.academicanswers.co.uk

Contact Name: Karl Brown
Role: Press Officer
Company: UKEssays
Contact Email: click to reveal e-mail
Contact Phone: 01623491010
Company Website: http://www.ukessays.com