18/02/2026
The 12th Civil Court of São Luís ordered Google Brasil Internet to pay BRL 32,200 (BRL 22,200 in compensatory damages and BRL 10,000 for moral damages) in connection with a fraud carried out through a cloned website displayed as a sponsored search result.
In the underlying case, the plaintiff searched for a motor vehicle using Google’s search engine and was redirected to a website that appeared to be a legitimate listing. After transferring the purchase amount, she discovered that the page was fraudulent.
The procedural controversy centered on whether civil liability could be imputed to the platform that displayed the sponsored advertisement, particularly in light of Google’s defense that it acted merely as a search provider, without control over third-party content.
The court resolved the matter under Article 14 of the Brazilian Consumer Protection Code, recognizing a defect in the provision of services from the standpoint of the level of security legitimately expected by the consumer.
The decision is grounded on a significant premise: by commercializing advertising space and allowing the purchase of strategic keywords without prior authenticity verification, the platform departs from the neutrality typically associated with organic search providers and becomes part of the supply chain, deriving direct economic benefit from the advertisement’s dissemination.
Under this framework, the theory of enterprise risk applies, rendering proof of fault unnecessary; it suffices to demonstrate the damage and the causal link between the service failure and the harm suffered.
The ruling reinforces the well-established understanding that a supplier bears strict liability when the activity it undertakes creates or heightens consumer risk, particularly in digital environments structured around advertising-based monetization.
Autored by: Maria Carolina Oliveira Chiacherini
