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Google Brazil Exec "Detained" For Refusing YouTube Takedown Order

Posted by timothy on from the taking-one-for-the-team dept.

h00manist writes that, as promised, "The police executed an order to detain Google's top executive in Brazil (Original in Portuguese), Fábio José Silva Coelho. Google refused an order to remove a YouTube video which accused a mayoral candidate of several crimes. Police say he will be released today; Brazilian law for the case allows for a one-year max sentence. Streisand Effect, anyone?"

5 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. When in Rome... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If your company policy requires you to break local laws, you have two options:

    1) break local laws, and go to a local jail.

    2) quit your job.

    There are, of course, ways of changing the laws and such...but until such time as those happen, the two above options are basically your only options.

    1. Re:When in Rome... by icebike · · Score: 5, Interesting

      He didn't comply because he couldn't comply.

      Are brazillian companies run in such a way that it is normal to expect a Janitor at a Sales office to be able to over rule the head office?

      If A US judge decided to hold a secretary of Embraer's US office hostage until the parent company nuckeled under to some unreasonable demand would Brazillians shrug? Or would they be burning the flag at the embasy gates.

      Why the the double standard when it comes to this type of behavior?

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    2. Re:When in Rome... by taupter · · Score: 5, Informative

      I'm the guy who posted comments before yours.

      Google complies with brazilian court orders by the thousands every year, and it should be no news. Google complies with court orders from every country it has a headquarter.
      Mr. Fabio, a brazilian citizen, Google employee and top executive, may not be able to obey the order by himself, but he's capable to command another Google employee to do so. So ultimately he is the main responsible person.
      I don't know how Google Brazil is run, but every company around the world with 10+ employees needs an hierarquical structure where someone at the top delegates to his tenants and it goes down under to the cleaning guy. And people make mistakes, get dismissed and so on. Someone messed up and will have to take the heat. And Mr. Fabio wasn't imprisioned, he just had to go to a police department to answer some questions and to be made aware of the problem and act upon.
      If an USA judge issued a court order the police must comply, be the target BillG, the elusive Embraer secretary or whoever. If the secretary is an USA citizen, that's it, if not the diplomacy will take place, as every UN member would expect to act.
      Burning flags is not a brazilian national sport. We're pretty orderly (fanfare to the common man playing in the backgound) and working people.
      There are no double standards here. Brazil respects international laws pretty much as everyone else. Please remember Flight 1907, when USA pilots downed a Boeing full of brazilian citizens just because some USA senator didn't want to be tracked in brazilian airspace by brazilian airspace authorities. Nobody burned USA flags, the pilots were repatriated to USA and propably nothing wrong happened to them, despite reaping more than one hundred brazilian souls. Because we respect the law.
      Brazilian judges aren't pluripotent tyrants in constant tantrum spree. They're accountable and overviewed by the legal system, that can punish the judge and overrule him/her if appropriate, just as every really civilized western country with representatives elected by the people.

      Sorry, but nothing to see here. Move along.

  2. I'm Brazilian and this is'nt censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Really, i'm completely against any kind of censorship and when i read about this the first time i tough it was something abusive. But after looking at some of the videos... they are just a bunch of lies about the guy, with fake "documents" that doesn't exist showing things he didn't do it. Here in Brazil there's a law that says something like this: if you accuse some candidate about anything during election you have do identify yourself. That's to protect people against things like this. Google did not comply with the law, they were asked to remove and done nothing, now they say excuses like they aren't responsible about user content. When it' s major record company thay don't even ask.. google has their legs open to then. Ridiculous position from a company that i have a lot of respect, hope they apologize their attitude.

    1. Re:I'm Brazilian and this is'nt censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      How do you know they are lies? And as far as I can see, the accuser does identify himself (unless he's using a fake full name as his YouTube username). I'm also Brazilian and I understand the need for this kind of law, but under Brazil's electoral law, it should be the accuser who is prosecuted, not the owner of the platform he's using to make the accusation.

      Brazil has a recurring problem with this - not sure how much it's the judges' fault or the prosecutors' fault, probably taking advantage of the fact that judges know nothing about how the internet works. Hopefully, our Internet Bill will be passed in Congress soon and end these bullshit interpretations of the law...

      (Definitely agree with you on record companies though - Google is always quick to comply with theirs and Hollywood's take down orders.)

      (Oh, and I'm not an Anonymous Coward, I just can't find where to identify myself! :P)