Publications

Alexander Tuzhilin, a Professor at NYU, and one of the leading researchers in data mining, has recently investigated the Google's click fraud detection system as part of a class-action lawsuit against Google.

Tuzhilin concluded that the company's efforts are "reasonable." His 48-page report is available at

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/pdf/Tuzhilin_Report.pdf

Google and the plaintiffs in the Arkansas case, Lane's Gifts v. Google, have agreed to a $90 million settlement, but the court is still determining whether to approve the settlement agreement. One of the settlement terms was that a third-party expert be allowed to examine the company's detection methods.

In related news, an Arkansas judge approved a $90 million settlement between Google and its advertisers who claimed the Internet's leading search engine improperly billed them for "clicks" that didn't lead to genuine customers seeking their products.

By settling claims made in the plaintiffs' class-action lawsuit, Google will give advertising credits that are the equivalent of a $4.50 refund on every $1,000 spent in its ad network during the past 4 1/4 years.

No one will receive cash except the lawyers, who will split $30 million.