Obama admin praises Google for thwarting unauthorized generic pharmaceuticals

[Schadenfroh]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20064135-93.html

Just six months earlier, Espinel, who's leading the Obama administration's efforts to thwart rogue pharmacies, commended Google's help in the battle at a White House meeting. And in June, Espinel's office released a plan (PDF) to address intellectual-property enforcement that praised Google, along with Yahoo and Microsoft's Bing, for voluntarily updating protocols to prevent the sale of ads to rogue pharmacies.

While I applaud the Obama administration for seeking to eliminate unauthorized pharmacies that might be selling drugs that infringe on pharmaceutical companies intellectual property rights, not to mention the fact that the unapproved drugs they sell might be harmful, it seems odd that the same company praised for helping fight the unauthorized pharmacies was also being investigated by the DOJ for advertising on their behalf...

Google, one of the most closely watched companies on the planet, somehow managed to surprise investors and the media when it disclosed in a May 10 regulatory filing that is was setting aside $500 million to cover potential settlement costs related to a Justice Department investigation.
The Wall Street Journal reported three days later that the settlement would resolve a criminal investigation into allegations Google made hundreds of millions of dollars accepting ads from illegal online pharmacies.
...
it's at least awkward that the Obama administration was praising Google for its help in thwarting rogue online pharmacies while at the very same time investigating the company for enabling those pharmacies to reach millions of Web customers. And the praise is even more curious given the eye-popping $500 million sum for a potential settlement.

"It's remarkable," said Ben Edelman, an assistant professor at the Harvard Business School, who has written about the growing market concentration in Internet search and resulting risks for advertisers. "The irony is obviously severe."
...
There are plenty of others surprised by the news. At that same December meeting at the White House, Google was joined by Microsoft, Yahoo, Go Daddy, and a few other companies in announcing the creation of a nonprofit organization called the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies. The purpose of the group is to share information about illegitimate online pharmacies in order to root them out and shut them down.
...
With Google negotiating a settlement, there clearly was a period when the company wasn't doing the right thing. Though regulators won't discuss the allegations, it's likely they believe Google was selling online advertising to pharmacies that offer drugs that are counterfeit, medications that have expired, or drugs without prescriptions. Those drugs can be both addictive and lethal. Counterfeit drugs have also raised the ire of drug makers, who've invested billions of dollars in research, and are concerned about the threat to their intellectual property.

But, it is likely tricky to sometimes discover if the pharmacy you are selling advertising space to is legit or not.

The challenge for Google, Bing, and other sellers of Internet advertising is distinguishing legitimate online pharmacies from illegitimate ones. But Harvard's Edelman said Google specializes in creating algorithms that should be able to detect rogue operators. There are obvious keywords and phrases that advertisers buy--such as "no prescription required"--that should help ferret out ne'er-do-wells, he said.

It is unnerving that many Americans might be falling victim to these rogues pharmacies. Hopefully, the impact of these "pharmacies" can be limited to avoid sickness from illegal generic drugs.

 

[xj0hnx]

Hopefully, the impact of these "pharmacies" can be limited to avoid sickness from cheaper generic drugs.

ftfy