Google Execs Threatened With Jail Time for Video

Today four Google Executives will face trial in Milan, Italy. Charged with criminal defamation and violation of privacy, the four could face time in prison if convicted. So what is it that has four executives from a multi-billion dollar company on trial?

The case is the result of a video posted on Google Video a number of years back. The New York Times reports that in 2006 to a video recorded on a cell phone and lasting three minutes in length was uploaded to Google Video. The clip showed four young people in Turin teasing a boy with Down syndrome. According to the Times, an Italian advocacy group complained about the video and, despite the fact that Google quickly removed it, prosecutors argue that the video should never have appeared on the site at all.

The four executives could face jail time as a direct result of the video, despite never having handled or approved the video. David Drummond, Google’s senior vice president and chief legal officer; George Reyes, its former chief financial officer; and Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel are among the charged along with a fourth exec rumored to have worked at Google Video in London.

Google says the prosecution is misdirected and we’d be inclined to agree. In a statement printed in the NYT, the company said that, while it is pleased that as a result of its cooperation the bullies in the video have been identified and punished, the company feels that bringing the case to court is wrong and similar to prosecuting the postman for hate mail.

More interestingly, Google goes on to say seeking to hold neutral platforms liable for content posted on them is a direct attack on a free, open Internet. Do you think that in this instance, the platform is partly responsible? Google said itself that the youths in the video were identified and punished so is the company really to blame? If Google had ignored the group’s request to remove the video then it would be a different story. The blame game aside, we’re still confused as to why four individuals who had no part in the handling of the video are being held responsible. Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments below. Check out the full report in the New York Times.