Google Executives May Get Jail Time in Italy for Video!

According to New York Times, Google executives have been put on trial for defamation and violating the terms and conditions regarding a video (of a Down Syndrome boy being teased by four boys from Turin) posted to the Italian Google Video site.

“Four executives of Google begin trial Tuesday in Milan on criminal charges of defamation and privacy violation in regard to a video posted on Google’s Italian site.”

According to the Italian officials, this video should not have been posted and if the prosecutors manage to win this case, the Google executives may serve jail time in Italy.

“To our knowledge, this is the first time an individual has been criminally charged for violation of data protection laws that occurred by the company he or she works for,” said Trevor Hughes, the executive director of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. “This suggests that privacy is going to be more of a battleground.” he further added.

The main problem is that this video was published without taking permission from any of the subjects.

In a statement, Google said:

"As we have repeatedly made clear, our hearts go out to the victim and his family. We are pleased that as a result of our cooperation the bullies in the video have been identified and punished. We feel that bringing this case to court is totally wrong. It’s akin to prosecuting mail service employees for hate speech letters sent in the post. What’s more, seeking to hold neutral platforms liable for content posted on them is a direct attack on a free, open Internet. We will continue to vigorously defend our employees in this prosecution."

It would be interesting to watch as to what happens in the future.

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