Canadian violin star Ashley MacIsaac has filed a lawsuit against Google for allegedly falsely identifying him as a “convicted sex offender” in an artificial intelligence-generated overview search summary.
The civil lawsuit filed by the Juno Award-winning musician in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, which he won Hollywood Reporterseeks at least $1.5 million in damages and claims that Google is responsible for the “anticipated reposting” of overview data that led to the cancellation of the December 19, 2025 concert date by a promoter via the online synopsis.
“These defamatory statements asserted that MacIsaac was a convicted sex offender and engaged in serious criminal misconduct as well as violent misconduct that gave rise to a civil lawsuit,” the lawsuit alleges. “Google’s cavalier and indifferent response to its publication of completely false statements alleging that MacIsaac committed serious sexual crimes, including crimes involving children, justifies the award of aggravated and/or punitive damages,” the civil lawsuit adds.
“If a human spokesperson had made these false claims on Google’s behalf, an award of significant punitive damages would be justified. Google should be liable no less because the defamatory statements were disseminated by software created and controlled by Google,” the prosecution adds.
Following press coverage of MacIsaac’s misidentification in a Google Overview summary, the famous Canadian violinist spoke out to the media about the misidentification, and notes in the lawsuit that he did not hear from the search engine giant directly nor received an apology.
MacIsaac in a statement he obtained Hollywood Reporter He added: “When I first discovered the false statements Google was publishing about me, I felt I needed to speak to the media to clear my name and draw attention to this case. Now that the Statement of Claim has been filed and served, I have no further comments about this initial phase of the lawsuit. I believe this is a serious issue, which must be resolved in the courts. I do not want to do or say anything that might hinder the progress of the lawsuit, or distract from this case. I ask that any future requests for comment be directed to counsel.”
In December 2025, in the wake of MacIsaac’s approach to media, a Google spokesperson said in a statement that search results linking a musician to criminal offenses would no longer appear in the AI overview, while adding: “When issues arise — such as if our features are misinterpreting web content or missing some context — we use those examples to improve our systems and may take action under our policies.”
No one at Google or its legal representatives at Torys Law Firm was available Monday for additional comment.
