Italian verdict on Google privacy sets dangerous precedent

By Jacqui Cheng | Last updated February 24, 2010

An Italian court has convicted three former Google executives of violations to Italy's privacy code early Wednesday morning. The decision comes after months of back and forth on the case, all of which began with a video uploaded by some delinquent teenagers of themselves beating on a classmate with Down Syndrome. Though the judge in the case absolved the executives of defamation charges (and a fourth was found not guilty of all charges), the verdict is shocking and is likely to have serious repercussions for sites that host user-generated content in Italy.

The three-minute video was uploaded in 2006 and had a short lifespan on Google Video Italia, as complaints were quickly lodged and it was pulled within hours. That didn't stop an Italian Down Syndrome support group called Vivi Down from arguing that it should never have appeared in the first place. The group filed a complaint that resulted in a two-year investigation, and eventually, Milan public prosecutor Francesco Cajani agreed that the Google execs had violated Italian law by allowing the video to be uploaded.

The four executives in question were Google's global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer, senior vice president and chief legal officer David Drummond, former chief financial officer George Reyes, and London-based Google Video exec Arvind Desikan. As Google has pointed out repeatedly, none of these executives had any involvement in the video and only learned about its existence after it had been removed. Nonetheless, Desikan was the only one of the group who was not convicted, while Drummond, Fleischer, and Reyes were all found guilty of privacy violations and received suspended six-month jail sentences.

The decision is sure to affect all manner of Internet companies, not just Google. Italian law says that Internet service providers are not liable for content posted by users, but Internet em>content providers are a different story—they are responsible for the things they "publish." Google had argued that it falls into the former category, but Judge Oscar Magi disagreed.

As a result, practically any company that's not explicitly an ISP could be held criminally responsible for content uploaded by users, no matter the quickly it is taken down after a complaint. YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Blogger, the Italian equivalents to Craigslist—the list is long. Many of these companies may instead choose to close up shop in Italy rather than risk their employees' livelihood. "It attacks the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built," Google's VP and Deputy General Counsel Matt Sucherman wrote.

Google is far from alone in its criticism of the verdict. “This is a ridiculous case which gives privacy and data protection laws a bad name,” Richard Thomas, an advisor to the Hunton & Williams Centre for Information Policy Leadership, said in a statement. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) also discussed the verdict during a call on global Internet freedom on Wednesday, saying that the decision would "chill innovation all over the world" and that it would force intermediaries like Google into playing the role of gatekeeper.

CDT did note, however, that the European Union could challenge the decision and ultimately overturn it, especially since it is currently considering a law that would give safe harbor to companies like Google. "This case is far from done," the CDT said. Google added that its employees plan to vigorously appeal the decision, and Fleischer seems more hopeful than most that it will turn out for the best. "I remain confident that today’s ruling will be overturned on appeal," he said in a statement.