Vividown, even the Supreme Court acquits Google - Computer Point

The Supreme Court confirmed the acquittal of the three (then) manager of Google accused of being criminally responsible for violating the privacy of a minor disability abused in a video uploaded to Google Video

Rome – The Third Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation upheld the ‘ acquittal of the three managers of Google accused (and convicted at first instance) in 2006 to a video uploaded by some users of Google Video.

case known by the name of the association that filed the complaint, Vividown, relates to an video uploaded in 2006 by a user on the video-sharing platform in Mountain View, where you see a disabled minor Turin beaten and taunted by a group of classmates.

Content, then, was clearly offensive and violent. And besides boyfriend violated the privacy of the victim of bullying. The legal issue, however, concerned the liability of Google (and the penalty of its managers) who allegedly would have to watch videos hosted on and make sure that all the actors in a movie (even more so if minors) had given its consent.

At first instance the Court of Milan by the rise was sentenced to six months of imprisonment of three Google executives (at the time) for violation of the Italian rules on privacy and the sentence had ended up going around the world: it was one of the first criminal proceedings, including at international level, he saw the accused intermediaries for content uploaded by users.
In the meantime, however, not only the family of the disabled child had withdrawn the lawsuit, but he also clearly established the European case law on ISP liability of not applying the Directive 31/2000 (implemented in Italy by Legislative Decree 70/2003).

So, in response to the application of Mountain View, the Court of Appeal had acquitted the three manager Carl David Drummond (then chairman of the board of Google Italy), George De Los Reyes ( now retired) and Peter Fleischer (responsible for the privacy policy for Europe).

However, the Italian investigators had decided that it was worth to get up to the Supreme Court and, in defiance of the principle of European no liability of intermediaries, demanded that the video sharing platforms such as YouTube were equipped with specific measures of preventive monitoring of the loaded material, subject to the informed consent of the subjects finished in videos posted online.

Now came the final acquittal by the Court of Cassation dismissed the appeal in about a month we will publish reasons to support it.

Google, through a spokesman, said the judgment “We are delighted that the Supreme Court has confirmed the innocence of our colleagues. Again, our thoughts turn to the boy and his family. Today’s decision is also important because it confirms an important legal principle.”

Claudio Tamburrino