Tokyo:

In what is being called the first of its kind, about 60 doctors in Japan have launched a class-action lawsuit accusing Google Maps of ignoring vitriolic reviews of their clinics.

Medical staff are seeking 1.4 million yen ($9,000) in total damages from Google to hold the U.S. tech giant accountable for its inaction on censorship.

They sued the company on Thursday, saying they were not entitled to respond to or rebut reputation-damaging comments because of their obligation to maintain patient confidentiality.

A participating doctor told reporters, “People who post online can make any comments anonymously, even if they are just slander or abuse.”

“It’s like I’m a punching bag,” he said anonymously.

The Tokyo District Court case is believed to be Japan’s first class action lawsuit against an online negative review platform, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said.

“While it is easy to post comments, it has become extremely difficult to delete them,” lawyer Yuichi Nakazawa told AFP.

“This could result in doctors operating in constant fear of receiving horrific comments,” he said.

The plaintiffs’ complaint alleges that the goal of many medical institutions is not to satisfy patients but to deal with their illnesses from a professional perspective.

“The clinic only provides patients with perfunctory diagnoses and prescribes medications as required, which is medically inappropriate but highly appreciated by patients,” the statement said.

The nature of the job also sometimes leaves doctors vulnerable to personal attacks online from vindictive patients, the plaintiffs argue.

Nakazawa warned that if the situation is not addressed, doctors “may find themselves hesitant to be firm and deny medically unnecessary tests or medications requested by patients.”

He believes this will ultimately cause harm to society.

Google Maps is so widely used in Japan that it has become an “infrastructure” of daily life, the lawsuit said.

Therefore, Google should be able to “easily recognize” the disadvantages of medical businesses if it doesn’t address unfair reviews.

The plaintiff acknowledged that Google removed some Maps reviews based on its own guidelines, but that the criteria for removal were opaque and “rarely” were removed.

Google told AFP it was “working to reduce inaccurate and misleading content on Google Maps”.

“Through a combination of human operators and computers, we protect the company’s image around the clock and eliminate unfair comments,” the company said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)