Google will pay out €5,000 for defaming

Google has been obliged to pay out €5,000 for defaming a Frenchman by automatic suggestions on search engine's home page.

The man said anyone searching for his name on google.fr was presented with suggestions including "rapist:, "rape" and "prison", according to Le Monde.

 The court found Google guilty of "public slandering of a private individual". The man in question had been previously convicted of "corrupting a minor".

According to Google, suggestions were based on other people's searches, and were not the firm's responsibility. It said it would appeal the decision.