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- La tensión Madrid-Buenos Aires acaba en crisis diplomática abierta
- Filme sobre Trump trae la política al Festival de Cannes
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- El beneficio anual de Ryanair crece un 34% gracias al aumento de pasajeros y precios
- Luis Abinader, el presidente dominicano de mano dura con Haití
- Sean "Diddy" Combs pide disculpas tras un video que lo muestra agrediendo a su expareja
- El papa Francisco califica de "locura" las actitudes antimigrantes en la frontera de EEUU
- Lai asume como presidente de Taiwán y pide el fin de la "intimidación" china
- El presidente dominicano es reelegido para un segundo mandato marcado por Haití
- El presidente iraní Raisi muere en un accidente de helicóptero
- Ebrahim Raisi, un presidente iraní ultraconservador
- Medios iraníes anuncian el deceso del presidente Raisi en accidente de helicóptero
- Lai asume como presidente de Taiwán y pide fin de "intimidación" de China
- España llama a consultas a su embajadora en Argentina y exige disculpas a Milei
- "Ninguna señal" de vida en helicóptero accidentado del presidente de Irán
- Presidente dominicano reelecto para un segundo mandato marcado por Haití
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- Biden enfrenta protesta silenciosa por Gaza y promete a estudiantes trabajar por la paz en Oriente Medio
- Irán continúa su intensa búsqueda del presidente Raisi tras un accidente de helicóptero
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Japan doctors sue Google Maps over 'punching bag' reviews
Around 60 doctors in Japan have accused Google Maps of ignoring vitriolic reviews of their clinics in a class-action lawsuit touted as the first of its kind.
The medics are seeking 1.4 million yen ($9,000) in total damages from Google in a bid to hold the US tech titan accountable for inaction over the reviews.
They sued the company on Thursday, saying they are powerless to reply to, or refute, reputation-damaging reviews because of their obligation to patient confidentiality.
"People who post online can say anything anonymously, even if it's nothing but slander or verbal abuse", one of the participating doctors told reporters.
"It's like I'm a punching bag", he said under anonymity.
The case at Tokyo District Court is believed to be the first class-action lawsuit in Japan to target a platform over negative online reviews, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said.
"Despite the ease with which they are posted, it has become extremely difficult to get the reviews taken down," lawyer Yuichi Nakazawa told AFP.
"This can lead to doctors doing their job under the constant fear of receiving horrible reviews", he said.
The objective of many medical institutions is not to satisfy patients, but to deal with their illnesses from a professional standpoint, the plaintiffs' complaint said.
"Clinics that give patients only a perfunctory diagnosis and prescribe medicines as requested would be inappropriate medically, but highly appreciated by patients," it said.
The nature of the job can also sometimes leave doctors susceptible to ad hominem online attacks by patients holding a grudge, plaintiffs argued.
If the situation remains unaddressed, doctors "may find themselves hesitant to be firm and refuse medically unnecessary examinations or medicines requested by patients," Nakazawa warned.
That ultimately does society a disservice, he argued.
Google Maps is so widely used in Japan that it serves as "infrastructure" for daily life, according to the complaint.
So Google should be able to "easily recognise" the disadvantages to medical businesses if unfair reviews are left unaddressed, it said.
The plaintiffs acknowledged that Google takes down some Maps reviews under its own guidelines, but criteria for removal is opaque and "few" are deleted, they alleged.
Google told AFP it is "making efforts to reduce inaccurate and misleading content on Google Maps".
"With the combination of human operators and computers, we are protecting the profile of companies around the clock, and removing unjust reviews", the company said.
M.Furrer--BTB