Information Week - Google Settles Click-Fraud Case. Google just can't catch a break. I have criticized the company in the past for its cozy dealings with the Chinese Government; now Google is paying $90 Million to settle a class-action in Arkansa claiming ad click-fraud. The author of the article linked to, a Plaintiff's lawyer, has criticized the settlement, and I agree with him. $30 million of the $90 million settlement will go to Plaintiff's lawyers, and the allegedly defrauded advertisers will get one-half cent for every Dollar they lost to click fraud. It is too bad that the Chinese citizens jailed for speaking their mind aren't citizens of the U.S. Isn't it nice to live in a country with the right of free speech? Something is wrong with a world in which commercial speech is litigated over in one country, and human beings are put in jail for exercising political speech in another. Maybe Google should spend the money it is making in China on protecting its systems and its advertisers from click fraud. As always, follow the money