Word: verdict
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...court and one of the most controversial. The ruling risked further fracturing Thailand's already deep political divide between those who back the ousted Prime Minister and his opponents. Police and military officers were on full alert across the country, fearing that Thaksin's supporters might riot if the verdict went against him. But while the streets of Bangkok were calm immediately after the verdict was read, Thaksin's allies vowed to hold a massive protest in Bangkok on March 14 to bring down the current government. (See photos of protests in Thailand...
...prosecutors in the Google case, however, said the verdict highlights the fact that certain values should endure regardless of technological innovation. "We are very satisfied, because by means of this trial we have posed a serious problem: that is to say, the protection of human beings, which must prevail over corporate interests," they said in a statement. Marco Bardazzi, a senior editor at the Torino daily La Stampa and co-author of a recent book about the Internet revolution, said the Italian case could mark a symbolic crossroads for Google, which was founded with the mission statement...
...statement, Google reacted angrily to the verdict, calling it an "astonishing decision ... that attacks the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built." The California-based search-engine giant, which owns YouTube, also said, "Common sense dictates that only the person who films and uploads a video to a hosting platform could take the steps necessary to protect the privacy and obtain the consent of the people they are filming." Google further claimed that European Union law gives hosting providers a "safe harbor from liability so long as they remove illegal content once they are notified...
...also had its share of defenders online. A comment posted on Twitter by a Rhode Island filmmaker named Salim Makhlouf summed up the sentiment of many Web users: "Italy needs to catch up with the times of open networks and get off Google's back." Some bloggers compared the verdict to convicting postal workers for delivering hate mail. And in an unusual step, the U.S. ambassador to Italy, David Thorne, entered the fray, saying Washington was "disappointed" by the ruling, which he called a threat to Internet freedom. "While all nations must guard against abuses, offensive material should...
...Indeed, the verdict is just the latest in a series of clashes between Italian authorities and advocates of Internet freedom. The Interior Ministry has repeatedly attempted to shut down politically incendiary Facebook pages, and the government has also backed a measure requiring that anyone who uploads videos to the Internet have a license - a move critics say is an attempt by the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who owns Italy's main private TV network, to maintain control of the distribution of video content...