Google Executives Face Jail Time for Italian Video

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/google-executives-face-jail-time-for-italian-video/

by brentb • 17 years ago

38 38 17 years ago

bits.blogs.nytimes.com

markup5• 17 years ago

The entire case is really grottesque. It’s thank to that video that the idiots (sorry, I can't just find another term) got busted and proper actions have been taken to make some justice for the boy with Down syndrome.

This is only yet another way to prove that our (I am italian) justice system is such a total failure on so many side that it hurts.

Retric2• 17 years ago

After reading this all I can think is...

Note to self: Block Italian IP's

How on earth does a case like this get prosecuted?

sh1mmer2• 17 years ago

Punishing Italian internet users isn't at all like punishing Google executives for Youtube is it?

davidw4• 17 years ago

> I am italian

Where are you from? You neglected to include any information about yourself in your profile! My wife and I are moving back to Padova soonish.

markup5• 17 years ago

I am from Bergamo, it is 200km far from Padova :-)

ryanwaggoner• 17 years ago

This is such a joke...does anyone really think that Google's senior executives are going to face jail time due to some trial in Italy? Laughable.

russell2• 17 years ago

Apparently one of Google's lawyers was arrested in Italy. https://www.privacyassociation.org/index.php?option=com_cont...

markup5• 17 years ago

Arrested? They aren't talking about any arrest on that article

mattmaroon2• 17 years ago

Well, they certainly wouldn't be extradited, since extradition in most of the world requires the crime they are found guilty of to also be a crime in the country of residence. I don't even think the asses who posted the video committed a crime here, let alone the guy who runs the website.

pg• 17 years ago

In related news, they also seem to have outlawed blogging: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/26/italian_law_kills_bl...

markup5• 17 years ago

Want to talk about one of our politicians (Matteo Salvini) asking to make a parliament hearing because facebook closed his account? sigh

prakash• 17 years ago

Not only that, kebabs as well: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_dri...

critic• 17 years ago

I support this decision 110%.

jacquesm2• 17 years ago

and comedy:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article47...

tlrobinson• 17 years ago

This will be about as successful as the MPAA's attempts sue The Pirate Bay, etc.

vaksel• 17 years ago

isn't Google covered by precedents, or at least their terms of service?

tkhggauwfawvyk• 17 years ago

Generally terms of service don't trumpet national laws.

smanek2• 17 years ago

s/trumpet/trump/

acangiano• 17 years ago

As an Italian who has left Italy in disgust several years ago, I have a hard time considering my country of origin to be a first world nation. Companies should be weary of doing business in Italy until the draconian laws there are revoked.

smanek2• 17 years ago

After this trial ends, they should just not offer service to Italian internet users or businesses ... Ideally they should set up some sore of embargo with all the major players [content providers, network owners, software producers, etc]. I think that a lot of companies would be willing to join in to help make an example of Italy so other countries don't try the same sort of bullshit in the future.

jcl2• 17 years ago

Unfortunately, there are still other companies that would be happy to take Google's slice of the market in their absence. I'm sure Microsoft wouldn't mind taking over search services, and there are plenty of user-generated content sites that would be willing to risk an unlikely extradition in exchange for Italy's YouTube users.

TrevorJ• 17 years ago

Edit* this must be why google patented the floating offshore datacenters...so they can operate outside of territorial waters and evade extradition.

If Exec's are directly personally responsible for content created by user's of a site in Italy it kinda makes you think twice about operating a site there. Pretty scary actually. I don't condone the video, nor do I think web services should not take some responsibility to monitor content, but it's not feasible or sane to assume they can catch all or most of what might be illegal in one country or the other.

jacquesm2• 17 years ago

I don't know why they would get a patent on something that obvious. They could simply do it without needing a patent.

Retric2• 17 years ago

Until the patent troll shows up. While it's slightly cheaper to just disclose the idea, filing a patent helps the patent office avoid granting a patent on the same idea.

jcl2• 17 years ago

Moreover, if a company copied them to gain similar legal immunity, who would they sue for patent infringement?

mattmaroon2• 17 years ago

I'm actually less shocked that they're bringing criminal charges than that it's illegal to post a video making fun of the mentally handicapped. It's clearly in bad taste, but I can't imagine living somewhere where even the poster of the video had committed a crime.

sh1mmer2• 17 years ago

I'm pretty sure that it would be considered a hate crime in the UK. This is an arrestable offense which can carry a range of punishments depending on the severity (e.g. physical assault vs verbal assault).

See http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/reducing-crime/ha...

DenisM• 17 years ago

Any free services listing Italian IP address ranges?

uberc• 17 years ago

Interesting to note that the individuals named are all non-Italian Google execs and employees. Perhaps the Italian government has no real intention of punishing individuals, but just wants to make a stink about this to try to scare UGC sites into being responsible for their content. The impossibility of extradition gives them cover. If they named Italian Google executives or employees, which I'm guessing they easily could have, they'd actually have to put people in jail and face the absurdity of these changes in a very concrete way.

davidw4• 17 years ago

Italy's in a bad way right now. Consider that they still have Berlusconi as their leader, who first made his appearance in the early 90'ies. Imagine if we still had Bill Clinton, Ross Perot and Bush Sr. contending the presidency in the US.

I think long term that Italy will continue to punch above its weight, as it has in the past: Roman empire, Renaissance, and some pretty decent stuff in decades past, for that matter - not bad for a relatively small country without much in the way of natural resources. But I don't know when that will be. We're headed back there next month, but we may not be staying too long. It's sad, because it's such a wonderful place in many ways, with plenty of very bright, creative, hard working people.

josefresco• 17 years ago

"Imagine if we still had Bill Clinton"

We can only dream ;)

Google Executives Face Jail Time for Italian Video

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