Will Googles Italy Conviction Stick… Or Is The Problem In The Law?
Most of the discussion around the conviction of three Google execs on criminal charges over a video uploaded to Google video (which none of those execs had anything to do with), rightly focused on the assault on basic common sense that the result created. Convicting three executives as criminals for actions they had absolutely nothing to do with, and which concern events where the company acted expeditiously once it was officially informed of the issue, just violates every concept of fairness. It’s hard to see how anyone can justify this sort of outcome (though, we’ve see a few people try). However, a separate question is whether or not the ruling has a real legal basis. Given some of the reports we’d received from some lawyers in Italy, the feeling was that this was perfectly within the bounds of Italian law (and some were upset that we’d even question that). There is some uncertainty, however, as to how this fits within wider EU law, which Italy must also abide by. The Citizen Media
