Larger Threat Is Seen In Google Case

Bill Echikson, a spokesman for Google, called a judge's ruling against executives “astonishing.” Paolo Bona/Reuters

From The New York Times:

ROME — Three Google executives were convicted of violating Italian privacy laws on Wednesday, the first case to hold the company’s executives criminally responsible for the content posted on its system.

The verdict, though subject to appeal, could have sweeping implications worldwide for Internet freedom: It suggests that Google is not simply a tool for its users, as it contends, but is effectively no different from any other media company, like newspapers or television, that provides content and could be regulated.

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