And there it is. The result that folks had said wouldn’t happen has come to pass. The trial in Italy against several Google executives over the posting of a bullying video to YouTube has resulted in guilty verdicts. Fleishman et al received 6 month suspended sentences. The landscape in Italy was so uncertain that the Google execs had even opted against stepping foot in the country while the trial was underway.
What was strange was the minimal coverage that this story received at the time.
From BBC:
Google has said it will appeal after an Italian court found three executives guilty of violating the privacy of a boy with Down’s Syndrome.
The court found that Google let a video of him being bullied be posted on You Tube in 2006.
Google had argued that it removed the video immediately after being notified and co-operated with Italian authorities to help identify the bullies and bring them to justice.
Well, no good deed goes unpunished. This verdict could have a rather intriguing ripple effects across the globe. The rather odd response was from a Google communications manager, Bill Echikson, when he said, that this “poses a crucial question for the freedom on which the internet is built”. That appears to be a non sequitur. This was not a question of freedom but, a violation of Italian privacy law. Ignorance of the law is no defense. To their credit, Google responded to the request to remove the video and help find the point of origin.
Granted, when all is said and done, this has all the trappings of grandstand routine on the part of the Italian prosecutors. Now that they have their head stuffed and hanging over the mantel…what next? Google will appeal. The larger concern would be, if this were to stand as precedent there could be some very interesting legal caseload ahead.
(Image used under CC from lharkness)