Dianne See Morrison
paidContent.org
Friday, July 25, 2008 8:07 AM

Four Google ( NSDQ: GOOG) executives may be standing trial over failing to adequately monitor third-party content posted to their Italian language site. Italian prosecutors are preparing to file charges in a two-year old case against the Google employees over a video uploaded to the search giant's Italian site, the Wall Street Journal is reporting. Prosecutors are expected to charge the execs for defamation and violation of privacy after they failed to control the content of the site.

Google spokesperson Stefano Hesse said that the company has been cooperating with the authorities and had removed the video "within hours" of having been told of its presence on the site. The 191-second video shows four youths taunting their autistic classmate. He noted that under EU rules, and Italian law, the company isn't required to monitor third party content on its sites, but takes down any offensive material when it is notified.

The target of the investigation includes Google's legal representative and chairman of its Italian unit at the time; another Google Italy board member who has since left; its head of privacy policies in Europe; and its former head of Google Video for Europe. Note that the Italian authorities are going after these particular persons because they had "authority" over the operations involved.

Google is facing a number of lawsuits across Europe over uploaded videos. In April, French TV network TF1 sued YouTube, claiming intellectual property infringement. Two months later, Spain's Telecinco sued the site over the same issue. YouTube has agreed in court to remove videos requested by Telecinco.

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