Cops cuff Google exec over YouTube Brazilian whack vid
Web giant refused to pull attack piece on wannabe mayor
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Google's senior exec in Brazil was detained by police for questioning yesterday after the firm refused to take down YouTube videos attacking a mayoral wannabe.
Brazil has stringent election laws that prevent any campaigning that might "offend the dignity or decorum" of candidates. The two videos in question "slander, insult and defame" Alcides Bernal, a candidate for election in Campo Grande, according to the indictment.
The police arrested Fabio Jose Silva Coelho for "disobedience" after the firm failed to remove the offending vids, but he will be released after he agrees in writing to appear in court, according to a police statement picked up by AFP.
In related news, Brazil has also banned the online video The Innocence of Muslims that sparked violent protests across the Islamic world, giving Google 10 days to pull the video from its site.
The low-budget trailer for the American-made movie shows the prophet Muhammad as a womaniser and child abuser, and set off various protests including attacks on US embassies in Egypt, Libya and Yemen.
Google usually holds to the position that it is not responsible for what users choose to post on YouTube, but there is a chance that it could be held accountable for not removing content once it has been declared illegal, an internet lawyer in Sao Paulo told Reuters. ®
COMMENTS
Err...
Before people chime in about freedom of speech: Google doesn't give two cacks about freedom of speech. Google cares only about what is in Google's best interest. If Google did care about freedom of speech and not shareholder interest, they'd allow nudity on you tube. If Google had any morals, they wouldn't host the video of Saddam Hussain being executed, or gangs "dissing" each other. Google wouldn't change things for China, if they believed in freedom of speech. No, it's all about what makes the most and loses the least amount of money for Google.
Good idea. Also, on each site, they could have a link to a list of all titles that have been blocked by order of that nation's courts. Perhaps with some/many called 'Title Forbidden' if the title itself was deemed to be offensive by that nation's courts.
That way, people would know what their courts were preventing them from watching.
That's not the point!
If you want to do business in a country (and google obviously do since in this case they have a Brazilian subsidiary) then you have to abide by that countries laws.
All of them! You don't get to pick and choose which ones you want to follow and which ones you want to ignore.
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