A.B. c. Google, 2026 QCCA 157
2026-02-11
Read full decision. Summary prepared by Alan Macek:
A.B. (hereinafter, “the appellant”) appeals from a judgment rendered on March 28, 2023 by the Superior Court (2023 QCCS 1167) granting in part his civil liability claim against the respondent, Google, because of the fact that, since December 21, 2015, the latter refuses to de-index a URL link allowing access to a post falsely claiming that he was convicted of child molestation. ... This case raises, for the first time before the Court, the issue of the liability of an intermediary whose search engine indexes a link leading to undisputedly false and defamatory information, without however being the author of the post and not reproducing its contents in any way. It simply ensures the indexing of the URL link of content found on the internet, nothing more. ... As for the appellant, he argues that section 22 para. 3 IT Framework Act imposes on Google a duty to remove a link leading to illicit content as soon as it becomes aware of it, a duty which, if it is not discharged, automatically constitutes a civil fault. In this case, because the defamatory content is illicit, the failure to de-index constituted a fault. The judge, in essence, accepted the interpretation suggested by the appellant. I believe he is right, for the following reasons.