One Misguided Tweet Is 'Indisputable' Evidence That Piracy Harms Movies?

Italian Prosecutors Assume Google Execs Read All YouTube Comments; Demands Jailtime Over Video

from the common-sense-failure dept

Mon, Nov 30th 2009 9:10am — Mike Masnick

We've been absolutely stunned by the Italian attempt to prosecute Google execs over a YouTube video. If you don't recall the story, apparently some schoolboys taunted a disabled boy by throwing a tissue box at him. They filmed the entire ordeal and posted it to YouTube. Because of the video, the kids in the video were actually held liable for the taunting. It actually helped bring those kids to justice. Meanwhile, Google took down the video as soon as they were alerted to it by the authorities (within a couple hours of finding out about it). But Italian prosecutors insist not only that Google should have blocked the video entirely, but the fact that they left it up means that its execs are guilty of criminal violations and deserve jailtime.

In pressing the case forward, prosecutors are claiming that Google must have known about the nature of the video because there were comments on the YouTube video expressing disgust over the video. It's as if they believe that Google execs read all the comments posted to YouTube and use those to pick and choose which videos should stay up and which should be taken down.

In the meantime, I'm still wondering why Italian prosecutors are not trying to push the tissue manufacturer in jail as well, as I would argue that those who made the package of tissues thrown at the boy are at least as, if not more, responsible for the actions of those kids as Google.

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Filed Under: comments, criminal, italy, liability, videos, youtube
Companies: google, youtube

36 Comments

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Just Bob, 30 Nov 2009 @ 9:18am

who needs to read the comments?
it's not like Google could do a keyword search through the comments or anything...
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- Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2009 @ 10:25am
  
  Re: who needs to read the comments?
  Yes, they should make sure their sofware looks for the keywords "box" "tissues" "disabled" "taunt" "kid" just in case someone posts a video about kids taunting another disabled kid with a box of tissues.
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Johnny Canada, 30 Nov 2009 @ 9:21am

Is it just me or does it seem that the E.U. does not like Google ?
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- Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2009 @ 11:55am
  
  Re:
  The E.U. doesn't like any non-European company, especially a sucessful one.
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  - interval, 30 Nov 2009 @ 12:33pm
    
    Re: Re:
    "The E.U. doesn't like any non-European company, especially a (sic) sucessful one."
    
    You got that right.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2009 @ 9:23am

Durr wut?
How about nobody gets any jailtime for throwing kleenex at a retard. Waste of time, money, and energy over something no worse than what happens on gradeschool playgrounds every day.
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google = cia, 30 Nov 2009 @ 9:28am

thats why
imagine why foreign govts should hate google and well why they hate MS too
all that govt interference in operations
that you dont know of haha
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- senshikaze (profile), 30 Nov 2009 @ 9:38am
  
  Re: thats why
  some of us in the US don't like MS without needing any CIA related reasons.
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dan, 30 Nov 2009 @ 9:50am

This case, and all others like it, boil down to lack of common sense in the face of tech. If this same thing happened without you tube involvement, the police have a set procedure. When you introduce ANY internet element, all common sense goes out the window.
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- Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2009 @ 10:04am
  
  Re:
  Yep the perpetrators outed themselves. If anything they should thank google allowing the miscreants to incriminate themselves.
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- The Infamous Joe (profile), 30 Nov 2009 @ 10:07am
  
  Re:
  Exactly. Remove the internet and what do you have?
  
  A guy goes out to his car and finds a dvd under his windshield wiper. He watches it with a few of his friends, it's some kids throwing a box at another kid. His friends express disgust. He shows the cops, the cops...
  
  ..charge him for finding it on his car?
  
  Meh, maybe that analogy doesn't work quite well (I shouldn't have used a car!), but anyone with any amount of (un)common sense can tell that Google is not to blame here.
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Jollygreengiant, 30 Nov 2009 @ 10:03am

Don't forget...
who the prime-minister is in Italy, and what his second-job is. Rupert must be bursting with envy at not having such a great opportunity as Berlusconi has to take a pop at Google.
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- Vincent Clement, 30 Nov 2009 @ 10:13am
  
  Re: Don't forget...
  Don't forget...this is Italy we are talking about? How many governments have they had since World War II?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - interval, 30 Nov 2009 @ 12:37pm
    
    Re: Re: Don't forget...
    "...this is Italy we are talking about? How many governments have they had since World War II?"
    
    Uh, since WWII the US has had 11 (11 presidents since Truman); don't throw stones at your own glass house. Or rather- you don't need to make it plain that you have no idea what you're talking about.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Palmyra (profile), 30 Nov 2009 @ 1:18pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Don't forget...
      By count I get 61 Italian governments since WW2. That plus 2 Republics. BTW with the exception of Nixon resignation and JFKs assignation all of our presidential changes have been due to a vote on a scheduled date.
      
      Now Italy has had how many governments that lasted over a year? Love all those 11 and 12 day ones.
      
      Happy my grandparents left....
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      - interval, 4 Dec 2009 @ 7:55am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Don't forget...
        "BTW with the exception of Nixon resignation and JFKs assignation all of our presidential changes have been due to a vote on a scheduled date."
        
        So what? What difference does that make? You seem to be insinuating that there's something cheap or slimy about Italian politics or that American politics are somehow "better". Brother, having been a life-long citizen, I got news for ya...
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hulser (profile), 30 Nov 2009 @ 10:16am

Innocent until reasonably imagined to be found guilty
From the linked article...
"'It is reasonable to imagine that comments like this were followed by requests by these same people that the video be removed,' the prosecutors wrote in the document they presented to the judge."

So, you can be put in jail in Italy for things that are "reasonable to imagine" rather than what has actually been proved? Either there is a mechanism for users of the Italian version of Google to report "offensive" content or there isn't. And, as the article mentions, Google isn't required by law to support such a feature or monitor the comments, but to remove content when notified by the "authorities". It looks like Google is being prosecuted for a law that doesn't exist.
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PRMan, 30 Nov 2009 @ 10:25am

I would hope...
I would hope that by now Google has completely blocked all YouTube access in Italy. Who knows what else they might get next?

The death penalty for a video showing a kitten being run over?
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- Johnny Canada, 30 Nov 2009 @ 10:55am
  
  Re: I would hope...
  How about on top of blocking YouTube the block all webpages in Italy from Google search. Then if that does not work they can block all pages with the word Italy (inculed all tourist information).
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2009 @ 10:28am

Seems to me that the Google execs should throw boxes of tissues at the Italian prosecutors.
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John Doe, 30 Nov 2009 @ 10:33am

Are they running for office?
Are these prosecutors running for office like the grand standing AGs that were going after Craigs List here in the US?
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Pangolin (profile), 30 Nov 2009 @ 10:47am

Here here...
I think we need more such prosecutions. Hear me out. The more ludicrous these get then the sooner people will decide to change the law to explicitly protect service providers and we can get on with our happy lives.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2009 @ 12:14pm

boys will be boys
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fogbugzd (profile), 30 Nov 2009 @ 12:26pm

It's just better PR
Prosecuting schoolboys for taunting doesn't get many headlines. Prosecuting Google gets worldwide attention. My hope is that these prosecutors get the professional and public embarrassment that they deserve.
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Computra, 30 Nov 2009 @ 12:29pm

seriously....
Or how about the "creators" of the kids...aka the parents who didn't teach their kids not to be bullies.

Also....to the person who said boys will be boys....seriously...try not putting back the human race a few hundred years in social evolution with that comment....I hate to hear "Boys will be boys"
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- Ryan Diederich, 30 Nov 2009 @ 4:35pm
  
  Re: seriously....
  No, you seriously.
  
  Are you implying that as a modern civilization, all disputes, lessons, and fights, should take place in the courts?
  
  The kids got in trouble, end of story. If anything, other kids at school gave them shit for it.
  
  If my and a schoolmate have beef, Ill punch him in the face. If he deserved it, he got what he got. And guess what, it didnt take 100 grand in lawyer fees for me to figure it out.
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interval, 30 Nov 2009 @ 12:32pm

Legislators should immediately be arrested for all the bad laws they pass. At least Google admins have an out; they may or may not be reading the comments of videos they host- lawmakers have no excuse for the bad legislation that flows through their doors.
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- Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2009 @ 4:26pm
  
  Re:
  Pssh, the lobbyists don't even bother to let the laws flow through the politician's doors anymore.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2009 @ 1:31pm

An idea
Cut all E.U. members off from the Internet, that would serve the Xenophobes right
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se-po, 30 Nov 2009 @ 2:07pm

the situation
It's not a great moment here in Italy.
People have no idea about technology, most of them watch TV and don't know internet as well (except for pornography or free football streaming). And our prime minister owns almost all the TV stations of the country.
This is a first step for censorship over the internet, just to tell at evrybody: 'Be careful with the internet, it's evil...'.
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shortcinema, 30 Nov 2009 @ 2:26pm

The Italian Legal system
This story doesn't surprise me.

Remember this is also the same judicial body that let a rapist go free and blamed the victim because ...are you ready for this...she was wearing tight jeans. He blamed her jeans for her attack.
Look it up. I am not making this up.
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shortcinema, 30 Nov 2009 @ 2:27pm

The Italian Legal system
This story doesn't surprise me.

Remember this is also the same judicial body that let a rapist go free and blamed the victim because ...are you ready for this...she was wearing tight jeans. He blamed her jeans for her attack.
Look it up. I am not making this up.
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Milano, 30 Nov 2009 @ 11:46pm

Sue
So what about your own idiotic sue-culture?
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lil, 7 Dec 2009 @ 7:39pm

oh WAIT
the issue at hand is not the 'disgusted comments,' its about the fact that such a video was allowed online, for all to see. The comments show that ppl were disgusted by the video, hence why google had to remove it. they are being prosecuted bc it took them so long. stop undermining italian politics, us is not all that either, its just different.
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Files search engine, 28 Jan 2010 @ 3:29am

Funny. In what century do the prosecutors live? How could they imagine that they read all the comments on YouTube.
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watch anime online, 6 May 2010 @ 1:50am

This is about you tube and thanks for talking about this .
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