http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/83405-google-execs-charged-in-italian-court-held-responsible-for-controversial-video-submission
While I don't agree with the judge's decision in this particular case, I commend him for having his own mind of sound reasoning, rather than succumbing to the influence of prior precedents set, that corporations are all seen as non-human entities and no one person or persons can be personally held responsible for unlawful acts committed under the name of the corporation. If a corporate entity is caught in an unlawful act, whether it be fraud or the concealment of known information that contributes to the death or multiple deaths of others, it is always only given a fine, that it pays off and then proceeds back to business as usual. No human from the corporation is ever held responsible for the crime or crimes committed.
An Italian court on Wednesday sentenced three Google executives to six months in prison because of a controversial video played repeatedly on its website.
Italian authorities requested the search engine giant, also the owner of Google Video, remove a 2006 clip in which a boy with Down syndrome is being bullied at school.
Google promptly complied and helped law enforcement officials locate the video's filmers. But a group that represents Down syndrome patients ultimately said that was not enough and took the tech firm to court on the grounds it infringed on Italian privacy laws. Google argued in response that it should not be held responsible for videos posted by others on its website, just as the Post Office is not held responsible for hate mail it delivers unwittingly.
But a Milan judge disagreed. He sentenced three of the four Google executives named in the case to jail time, he told Reuters on Wednesday
