Back in February of this year, I wrote about how four Google executives are being taken to court for a video being uploaded of a teenager with Down’s Syndrome. Google claims that they have not committed any crime and I definitely agree with them. When you launch a website that depends primarily on user-generated content, then you should not be responsible for videos unless the community flags them. The video of a teenager with Down’s Syndrome being bullied by four students slipped through the cracks.

The Google employees on trial are David Drummond (SVP of Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer), George De Los Reyes (board member) , Peter Fleischer (Global Privacy Counsel), and Arvind Desikan (Google Video Marketing). The video was uploaded shortly before Google acquired YouTube. And then the video stayed for a few months before Google was notified about the objectionable content. As soon as Google found out about the video clip, they removed it.

Google also provided the information of the user that uploaded it. The four students ended up being expelled from their school in Northern Italy. The actual victim withdrew from the lawsuit, but a Down’s Syndrome advocacy group called Vividown decided to pursue the case. A verdict is not expected to be made until this December.

Google has made an offer to competitors in the form of copyright-right free books.  Google is in the process of digitizing millions of books as part of the Google Book Search project.  These books are generally out-of-copyright material and can be downloaded in PDF format.  The books are scanned using optical character recognition technology such as the Elphel 323 camera which can scan 1,000 pages per hour.

This project has been the subject of controversy and currently there is a congressional hearing on Google Book Search.  To mitigate criticism, Google announced that anyone, including competitors can resell the books Google has scanned.  Amazon.com critcized Google for their role claiming that they cheated the system by scanning books without permission.

“For the out-of-print books being made available through the Google Books settlement, we will let any book retailer sell access to those books,” stated Google’s SVP of Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond at a hearing. “Google will host the digital books online, and retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or your local bookstore will be able to sell access to users on any internet-connected device they choose.”

However Amazon.com has not interest in participating because they believe Google cheated their way into the digitzation project by scanning books without permission.  “The internet has never been about intermediation,” stated Amazon.com VP of Public Policy Paul Misener. “We are happy to work with rights holders without anyone else’s help.”

V-Vehicle is an automotive startup company based in San Diego, California.  The vehicle company has raised $62.25 million and plans to raise an additional $4 million.  The companies involved in the $62.25 million are Google Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.  V-Vehicle will be building cars in the northeastern region of Louisiana.

V-Vehicle raised a previous round from T. Boone Pickens and has former Mazda design chief Tom Matano on their staff.  V-Vehicle recently procured a facility that was owned by Guide Corporation.  And Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was at the announcement ceremony of the plant opening.  Jindal offered V-Vehicle $67 million as part ofa startup incentive package.  Local governments provided an additional $15 million.  V-Vehicle is aiming to raise about $50 million between equity and loans.

David Drummond, Google’s SVP of Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer is listed as one of the Board of Directors at V-Vehicle.  Former Oracle executive and founding CEO of V-Vehicle Frank Varasano had invested $100 million of his own money into the company.

Kleiner Perkins partners John Doerr and Ray Lane also have board seats in V-Vehicle.  James Davison, a trucking company leader is also listed as an investor.

In Louisiana, the company plans on developing a “green” car.  Tesla should beware, they’re not the only ones in the electric car game.

[via Xconomy/alarm:clock]

A boy with down syndrome that was at the center of a lawsuit in a trial against several Google executives withdrew from a lawsuit.  He withdrew from the case this past Wednesday.  However the trial will continue as Judge Oscar Magi accepted the role of the plaintiff.  The judge will be representing the interests of people suffering from Down syndrome.

The Milan city council met for a second session on Wednesday.  The trial will be postponed until March 17 without hearing arguments.  The four Google executives involved in this case is David Drummond (Google SVP and chief legal officer), George Reyes (former Google CFO), Peter Fleischer (Google Global Privacy Counsel), and Arvind Desikan (former Google Video head in London).

The boy decided to withdraw from the lawsuit because it was not in his best interests to proceed.  Michela Malerba, Google’s lawyer also expressed regret about what happened.

“The decision to withdraw from the case has been taken because Google officials have not only expressed their solidarity over what happened but have also taken concrete actions that show their sensitivity to the problems of handicapped people and the grave problem of bullying,” stated Malerba.

The lawsuit is over a video that was uploaded to Google Video.  The video uploaded in 2006 had four kids making fun of a boy with Down’s syndrome.

“The agreement between the boy’s family and Google was a surprise to me,” stated Guido Camera, a lawyer that represents that Vivi Down association.  “No one knows the details of the agreement, but if the family of this unfortunate boy has received compensation, then I’m happy.”

[via PC World]

File this under the WTF category.  Four Google executives are being charged for a crime that they did not commit.  A trial in Milan, Italy is charging David Drummond (Google SVP and chief legal officer), George Reyes (former Google CFO), Peter Fleischer (Google Global Privacy Counsel), and an unnamed executive (Google Video in London) for a video that was uploaded to Google Video.  The video uploaded in 2006 had four kids making fun of a boy with Down’s syndrome.

Google quickly removed the video uploaded to the site, but apparently someone in Italy still felt that Google should be punished.

“To our knowledge, this is the first time an individual has been criminally charged for violation of data protection laws that occurred by the company he or she works for,” stated Trevor Hughes, a director for International Association of Privacy Professionals. “This suggests that privacy is going to be more of a battleground.”

Google compared this case to filing a lawsuit against a postal worker delivering hate speech letters in the mail unknowingly.  I think that this is a great analogy for this case.  Believe is the full Google statement:

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.

[via NYTimes]