The Italian prosecutors currently pursuing Google and its executives through court in Milan are seeking jail sentences for all four of the accused in a case concerning a UGC video uploaded in 2006. At stake in the case is the very freedom of the Internet.
The Blame Game
Bullying in all its various forms is a disgusting act that should be stamped out at all costs. However, when the people doing the bullying, in this case of a disabled teenager with Down Syndrome, upload a video of them doing it, are they to blame or is it the site owner?
That’s the question currently being asked, in essence, in a Milan court. Four Google executives have been brought to trial on charges of defamation and failure to exercise control over personal data over the video uploaded to the now-defunct Google Video in 2006.
Disabled Boy Bullying Video
The offending video showed a disabled teenager being taunted in a classroom full of kids. It was live on Google Video for a couple of months before a complaint was received and Google duly removed the video from the site.
That should, probably, have been case closed. But it wasn’t. A complaint was made by an Italian advocacy group for people with Down Syndrome and the disabled boy’s father. Google was then held accountable and taken to court.
Jail Time For Google?
The trial began in October, with four Google execs in the dock: David Carl Drummond, head of Google Italy’s managing board; George De Los Reyes, a board member; Peter Fleitcher, in charge of privacy protection in Europe; and Arvind Desikan, who worked in marketing for Google Video.
And now comes word that the Italian prosecutors are seeking prison sentences of one year for Drummond, De Los Reyes, and Fleitcher, and of six months for Desikan.
The consequences should Google lose the case are very clear. It could potentially mean that every single user-uploaded video on sites including YouTube would have to be vetted before they appeared on the Web.
Serious Consequences For A Non-Case
A Google spokesman said:
“This prosecution is akin to prosecuting mail service employees for hate speech letters sent in the post. Seeking to hold neutral platforms liable for content posted on them is a direct attack on a free, open Internet and could spell the end of Web 2.0 in Italy.”
I think that sums up my feelings on this case perfectly. I am 100 percent behind Google on this one as I cannot conceive how either the company or the individuals being tried can be held accountable.
Google did everything it was meant to with this video, responding to a complaint and removing the video at its first opportunity, so why the court case?
[Via Reuters]
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