Judge Allows SEO Sabotage Lawsuit Over Toxic Backlinks

A federal judge has permitted a lawsuit to move forward, alleging that an auto transport company engaged in a "toxic backlink" campaign to damage a competitor's search engine rankings. The ruling, issued on June 2, was made at the motion-to-dismiss stage, meaning the court has not yet determined the truthfulness of the allegations. Instead, the judge found that the plaintiffs had presented a plausible claim for false advertising under the federal Lanham Act, alongside trademark and Illinois consumer protection claims. The judge did, however, dismiss the plaintiffs' California unfair competition claims.

The lawsuit, filed by Montway, alleges that its competitor, Nexus AT LLC, created over 2,350 "toxic backlinks" between April and October 2025. These backlinks reportedly originated from websites associated with spam and undesirable content, using anchor text such as "buy steroids online," "Payday loan services," "illegal betting sites," "Cocaine powder online," and "unlicensed firearms." Montway contends that this campaign was designed to lower its Google search engine rankings and to falsely associate its brand with illegal or disreputable products and services. The complaint further states that a former Nexus manager informed Montway executives that Nexus CEO George Arkin had instructed an SEO contractor to execute this backlink strategy. Montway also claims to have sent a cease-and-desist letter in October 2025, after which the backlink campaign allegedly intensified. These specific allegations remain unproven in court.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly ruled that the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged that the anchor text used in the backlinks was literally false, as it appeared to direct users to one type of content or service but instead led them elsewhere. He also determined that the alleged backlink campaign could be considered "commercial advertising or promotion" under the Lanham Act, thereby allowing the false advertising claim to proceed. This decision is significant because it addresses whether a "toxic backlink" scheme can be classified as false advertising under existing legal frameworks, rather than determining the ultimate liability of the defendants.

The ruling highlights the evolving landscape of digital competition and the legal challenges arising from SEO manipulation tactics. While the court did not rule on the merits of the case, its decision to allow the lawsuit to proceed suggests that companies may have legal recourse against competitors who employ deceptive SEO practices. The case will now move to further stages of litigation where evidence will be presented to support or refute the claims made by Montway against Nexus AT LLC and its CEO, George Arkin. The outcome could set a precedent for how such SEO-related sabotage is handled in the future.