3 Google Executives Charged In Internet Case
Google says it will appeal an Italian court's of three Google executives conviced of privacy violations for not acting quickly enough to pull down an online video online that showed bullies abusing an autistic boy.
In the first such criminal trial of its kind, Judge Oscar Magi sentenced the three to a six-month suspended sentence and absolved them of defamation charges.
A fourth defendant, charged only with defamation, was acquitted.
Google called the decision "astonishing" and said it would affect the freedom of the Internet.
William Echikson, Google Spokesperson:
"None of these three employees had anything to do with this video. They didn't upload it, they didn't film it, they didn't review it, and yet they have been found guilty, and so if this is let to stand, we believe that it would threaten the very freedom that the Internet has brought about, that sites like Blogger and YouTube, if they are held responsible for vetting every video, then the freedom that we know, the Web we know, will cease to exist. And these are important points of principle, and that's why we're going to appeal and support our employees all the way."
Google, based in Mountain View, California, says the decision could force providers to attempt an impossible task - prescreening the thousands of hours of footage uploaded every day onto sites like YouTube.
The case was being closely watched around the world due to its implications for Internet freedom.
Prosecutor Alfredo Robledo said he was pleased with the decision and that Google will now have to consider better monitoring its video.
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