Head Google Executive in Brazil Arrested Over YouTube Political Attack Video

YouTubers
Zoom Out Zoom In
By
1:12 pm September 27, 2012
Posted on... 1:12 pm September 27, 2012
Written By

Brazilian judges are doubling down on efforts to make Google accountable for users’ YouTube videos.

The Associated Press reported that police arrested a Google Brazil executive last night for failing to take down YouTube videos slandering mayoral candidate Alcides Bernal in next month’s local elections. A judge in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul issued a warrant for Fabio Jose Silva Coelho for violation of election laws that forbid campaigns from slandering another candidate’s integrity, which the uploaded video in question has allegedly done. AFP reported that the video in question accused Bernal of “instigating abortion, drunkenness, physical injury of a minor, illicit enrichment, and contempt as well as prejudice against the underprivileged.”

Head of Google Brazil Silva Coelho


 
Silva Coelho has since been released and is awaiting trial. Google has said they are not responsible for the content posted on YouTube and would appeal the decision.

Adding to YouTube’s problem in Brazil, a judge in Sao Paulo, home to a large Middle Eastern community, ordered Google to remove the infamous “Innocence of Muslims” video from its website because of its offensiveness to Muslims. The judge has given the company has 10 days to remove the video or face daily fines of $4,950.

In both cases, Google has stood firm and said that they are not responsible for the content posted on YouTube. Their community guidelines and terms of service back them up. The community guidelines clearly state that they “encourage free speech and defend everyone’s right to express unpopular points of view. But we don’t permit hate speech (speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, and sexual orientation/gender identity).” The “Innocence of Muslims” film falls into hate speech under YouTube guidelines, but the attacks on Bernal do not. Legal challenges withstanding, YouTube was in its rights to keep the Bernal video, but not the “Innocence of Muslims” film.

What may be freedom of speech in one country could be grounds for an arrest warrant in another country. Brazil’s court rulings have proven that.

By Ed Carrasco

Ed Carrasco has been in the journalism field for nearly a decade. Some of his photographs/articles have been featured in publications such as the Guardian, LA Weekly, OC Weekly, the Fullertonian, Cerritos-Artesia Patch and Orange Coast Magazine. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA and a master’s degree in Journalism from Kingston University in the United Kingdom.

Related posts

Newer Post
Older Post

0 comment

  1. Creative Studio Epipheo Launches New YouTube Web Series

    […] the land of utterly useless information. Don’t believe me? Go ahead and type, “What is” into Google. Yeah, that’s right — “What is yolo?” is the fourth search result. Hard-hitting […]

    Like . Dislike . October 2, 2012, 9:01 am .
  2. Anthony Padilla Talks Smosh Games, Zelda, And 'Humiliating Punishment'

    […] you won’t be happy until you conquer the Internet. In addition to their incredibly successful YouTube channel and website, Ian and Anthony (also known as Smosh) have recently launched an all-gaming […]

    Like . Dislike . September 28, 2012, 10:06 am .
  3. Happy Birthday, Google! Getting Dirty With the 14 Oddest Search Questions | Mike Henry - Networking Pro

    […] is hard to believe that 14 short years ago, my grandpa was like, “What’s a Google?” Now his most favorite pastime is to Google all the odd questions that people ask of the search […]

    Like . Dislike . September 28, 2012, 5:49 am .
  4. Happy Birthday, Google! Answers For the 14 Oddest Search Questions

    […] Share on TumblrIt is hard to believe that 14 short years ago, my grandpa was like, “What’s a Google?” Now his most favorite pastime is to Google all the odd questions that people ask of the search […]

    Like . Dislike . September 27, 2012, 4:58 pm .

Comments are closed.