Three Google executives have been condemned to six months suspended sentences, Wednesday, February 24, for invasion of privacy in Italy. A fourth executive, Arvind Desikan, faced only the defamation charge and was cleared. These leaders of American society were tried in Milan for involvement in defamation and invasion of privacy after it broadcast a video showing a disabled teenager being bullied by others. All four were acquitted of the charge of defamation.
The Italian court’s decision could force Google to moderate its platform of video, or to merely block access to YouTube in Italy.
The aberrant video, broadcasted in September 2006 and stayed for almost two months on Google Video, showed a boy with Down syndrome suffering from harassment by the four students in Turin (north) and had caused a scandal in Italy. The four students had been barred from school until the end of the 2006-2007 of school year. This video has also looked in the category of clips “most entertaining” and calculated one time among the most clicked content.
Prosecutors had requested in November sentenced to one year in prison David Drummond, chairman of the board of directors of Google Italy at the time, George De Los Reyes, a member of the board at the material that has since left Company, and Peter Fleischer, responsible for the protection of privacy, and a sentence of six months against Arvind Desikan, head of video projects within the company. During the trial, the family of the victim had drawn back her complaint, but the city of Milan claimed damages and the association of human trisomy Vividown.