"Drugstore Cowboy" is a feature article in Wired that tells how government agents caught Google actively helping set up illegal sites to sell illegal drugs, And helping to boost sales of those illegal drugs, not once but over & over again -- enough proof that they "forced Google to pay $500 million". It's a bit of a longer read, as the author, Jake Pearson, tells about the convicted con man who helped the government pull off the sting, though that does make it a more interesting read than simply reciting the facts of the case. I think it's also a bit relevant...
Pearson quotes US attorney for Rhode Island, Peter Neronha, as telling the Wall St. Journal that: "We simply know from the documents we reviewed and witnesses we interviewed that Larry Page knew what was going on". The sting focused on illegal pharmaceutical [drug] sales, but did, does Google's *help* start & stop at illegal drug sales, or were, are other scams included as well? Don't know - can't say -- but I'd find it surprising if they helped illegal pharmacy sites be Very successful using Google Ad Words, but drew the line there... I can't imagine them feeling it's all right to help people sell illegal drugs, and not doing the same thing, not feeling it's OK to help & encourage other illegal activities & scams.
AND the article only talks about how Google wound up re-vamping its procedures where pharmaceutical sites are concerned. It Doesn't SAY that Google rethought the way they sold Ad Words, and it doesn't say they changed *Any* policies having to do with ethics. There's no mention of any internal company policy changes -- they hired a new 3rd party company for screening & require pharmacies be certified now.
Google's search works -- I'm not saying don't use it -- but do please be careful to vet the sites it finds. Like any other biz service, Google helps its clients & customers be successful, & You Are Not Their Customer when you do a Google search [you're actually a product -- Data -- that they sell]. After reading this article it seems you can't count on Google using ethics or legality or right & wrong -- when they famously say they'll do no evil they're careful not to define just what they consider evil -- and they might well help sell you a scam rather than a legitimate product, if the people behind the scam are better clients that pay more.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/05/google-pharma-whitaker-sting/