In recent news, a Brazilian court ruled that Google executive Fabio Jose Silva Coelho should be in jail for not taking down a politically-based Youtube video. Today, we talk about this law, and others like it – and how valid they are on a platform like the internet. Should the Google exec go to jail? Who decides?
Courtesy of ibtimes.com
The Brazil VS Google Debacle
Campo Grande is a nice little city in Brazil. They are hosting mayoral elections at the moment. Youtube videos recently surfaced that Brazil claims ‘goes against’ their pre-vote election laws.
The Brazilian courts were so furious, they’ve demanded that Google remove these heinous videos, and have called for a nation-wide suspension on these two enormously popular internet sites.
I can see how the potential mayor of Campo Grande might not like Youtube videos circulating that may sway votes. But isn’t that what free speech is about? Brazil is a progressive country – surely they’ve read the Youtube responsibility clauses?
In case you don’t know – because Youtube is ‘run’ by third-parties, and consists of user generated content, legally, Youtube is NOT responsible for anything posted there. Google is appealing this (ridiculous) ruling, and has done it in good spirits.
What’s The Point of The Responsibility Clause?
What I want to know, is why the leagues of Google lawyers haven’t made the responsibility clause ironclad yet, on an international level. I guess it’s because on a global scale – there is no real authority to govern what goes and what doesn’t.
Google should have learned from their previous scuffle with a European nation (Italy) which almost saw 4 Google executives go to prison for not taking Youtube videos down that infringed on privacy laws. Clearly being a Google exec has its downsides.
Until free speech is as progressive in Europe as it is in America, these clashes are bound to happen. Google and Youtube even have a set of specific standards and rules that govern how people should use Youtube. While this is sometimes ignored, these videos are removed quickly by the Youtube team.
Courtesy of csmonitor.com
I don’t know why these issues are becoming contentious. If I was Google, I wouldn’t bother defending my executives in court. They did nothing wrong. Just take down the videos that the country in question is having a fit over, and remind the foreign court about their legal rights as an American company.
The Issues At Hand
Clearly the issues here go beyond court ruling, copyright infringement and videos that violate election voting laws. This is an issue of who owns the user content. In an increasingly user-generated internet – the companies behind the platforms can’t be expected to take the financial and legal burden caused by random users.
It seems to me that Google is going to have to head up the fight for free speech on the internet in the years to come. Until the world governments have some sort of unified regulatory policy for online content, Google is exposed.
Do you think Brazil has the right to sue Google? I’d like to hear your opinion on this hot topic!
