You may have noticed that I haven’t written anything since last September. For the foreseeable future, everything I do will be posted at QAQN.com. This blog had a good run, though I was very… inconsistent. I don’t have a ton of interest in blogging, but podcasting is another matter. Come check it out!
So this morning we filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against advertisers we believe have deliberately broken our rules.
It’s hard to imagine that Google doesn’t realize what douchebags this makes them sound like. I’m all for getting these kinds of pharma companies (as mentioned in the article) out of the search results. I’m all for the proper authorities working to take those companies down. What I’m not in favor of is setting a precedent that says not playing by Google’s rules is somehow illegal. Google policies are not law.
There’s a sign at my local McDonalds that says, in effect, “no shirt, no shoes, no service”. They can throw me out of the restaurant if I come in without a shirt on. What they can’t do, is take me to court for breaking their rule.
So, just a few minutes ago, I got this in my inbox:
To Daniel Clark:
As a participant in one of Newegg?s Advertiser Programs offered through Commission Junction, you may be aware that Newegg does not accept affiliates into any of its Advertiser Programs if the affiliates have sales tax nexus with North Carolina or Rhode Island.
An affiliate has sales tax nexus with a particular state if the affiliate has either (a) an office, residence or other physical presence in that state, or (b) activities in that state by the affiliate, its employees or a person or business with which it has some sort of contractual or agency relationship, which are sufficient to require the affiliate to collect and remit that state?s sales tax under state and federal law.
Based upon the information you have provided to us, we have determined that you do not have sales tax nexus with either North Carolina or Rhode Island and are treating you accordingly. However, please notify us immediately if you have nexus with either of these states.
Thank you for your cooperation
Hideaki Kondo
Affiliate Marketing Manager
Did they just really send me an email to tell me that they double checked and found that I’m not in a state where I’d have nexus? I dig NewEgg, and I’m sure Hideaki Kondo is a nice person; this just struck me as, well, odd.