D-Day for Google Execs in Italy; Could Face Jail Time

Today is D-Day for four Google execs who were sued by Italian prosecutors in June of last year. The New York Times blog reports the Google execs now sit in a Milan courthouse facing criminal charges – namely defamation and privacy violation.

The charges involve a video that was uploaded to Google Video back in 2006. The video depicts four Italian youths teasing a boy with down syndrome.

Google removed the video once they became aware of the situation, but Italian authorities are claiming that the video never should have made it onto the ‘airwaves’.

The trial supposed to take place back in September, but was delayed.

The four executives include:

David Drummond – Google S.V.P. and Chief Legal Officer
George Reyes – Former Google CFO
Peter Fleischer – Google Global Privacy Counsel

The fourth executive worked at Google Video in London, but a spokesman failed to identify him.

Here is Google’s statement to the New York Times:

As we have repeatedly made clear, our hearts go out to the victim and his family. We are pleased that as a result of our cooperation the bullies in the video have been identified and punished. We feel that bringing this case to court is totally wrong. It’s akin to prosecuting mail service employees for hate speech letters sent in the post. What’s more, seeking to hold neutral platforms liable for content posted on them is a direct attack on a free, open Internet. We will continue to vigorously defend our employees in this prosecution.

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