Google Refuses to Remove Police-Brutality Videos

[one_voice]

Google's latest Transparency Report contains this tantalizing bit:

We received a request from a local law enforcement agency to remove YouTube videos of police brutality, which we did not remove. Separately, we received requests from a different local law enforcement agency for removal of videos allegedly defaming law enforcement officials. We did not comply with those requests, which we have categorized in this Report as defamation requests.

Good on Google. This report, reflecting the months from January to June of this year, sets an important precedent, one that is surely relevant as videos of violent police behavior from the Occupy protests grow in number and play counts. With this report, Google seems to be indicating that users who post such videos have the company's protection. In places like Egypt and Tunisia, the spread of videos portraying government brutality seems to have galvanized protesters. If Google were to take down such videos, that could have a powerful detrimental effect on the Occupy movement.

*snip*

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/10/g...

[truebrit71]

1. Good for Google...

...Don't let them hide their crimes..

[Stuart G]

2. Very very important for this reason..

As long as there is free dissemination of videos , there will be strong check on the police.
{b]and we all know this...{/b]

So the damn main stream media doesn't show it. We will..
YOu tube might be the strongest friend we have in all of this..

thanks for posting...kick and rec.

[Gregorian]

3. Phew.

[Stuart G]

4. In the past, the video was controlled by media.

Certain footage could be "lost".

Less likely now..

[Hutzpa]

5. Inspite of all the recent hate

I believe Google has always been on our side, the 99%.

I leave it at that.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

6. the expected GOP reaction in congress

1. Punish teh Google for being anti-american
2. demand that the internet get and off switch
3. claim that OWS is treasonous.

[ZombieHorde]

7. Recommended. nt

[mysuzuki2]

8. if LEA's don't want videos of police brutality

stop brutalizing people. There, see how easy it was to solve that problem?

[MedicalAdmin]

19. LEAs. Law Enforcement Assifers? n/t

[Pacifist Patriot]

29. One would think, eh?

[Jack Rabbit]

9. That is the right decision, no matter how painful

Of course, we appreciate the police when they do their jobs well. When they do it poorly and beat demonstrators unnecessarily (to include unnecessary use of pepper spray and baloney like that), that's another matter. The abuse of police power, whether a heat-of-the-moment lapse of judgment by an individual patrolman or heavy-handed suppression of demonstrations ordered by the local mayor, are of public concern. It is not something that should be swept under the rug because somebody ends up being embarrassed.

[cui bono]

31. True. Plus they are supposed to be trained in dispersing tensions in crowds

yet they were creating tension in Times Square. Instead of giving protesters room they were pushing barricades into the crowd, raising tension. When a white shirt told the police to back down everything settled back down.

They need to drop the attitude and work to keep the peace, not instigate the crowd so that they have a reason to crack some heads. Unfortunately you get "news" outlets filling their heads with propaganda about who the protesters are which gets them biased against them instead of thinking of them as patriotic human beings out to save their country.

[H2O Man]

10. Recommended.

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. double rec

[flamingdem]

11. Google also realizes that if they take them down they'll pop up all over elsewhere

It's not like they can police youtube very well. It takes 48 hours to remove vids.

[prolesunited]

12. The whole world is watching

No longer an empty slogan.

[Kaleko]

26. That's true.

We're watching from Canada, Germany, Australia... On every continent... We're following every single development and doing our own things to keep this fire burning.

I know this to be true because my friends are scattered all over the place but we're tuned to the same frequency band.

[sandyj999]

13. Bravo Google! Let it all be seen. nt

[firehorse]

15. It's only fair. They can have their camera surveilance, its only fair that we police the police too

[redqueen]

16. K&R

[RoccoR5955]

17. Google's motto:

"Don't be evil."
The way that the government is retaliating on this is by the FTC investigation against Google.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

18. Google acted the way they should have acted

I'm thankful they didn't fold to pressure, but then this is the way we should expect companies like Google to act. This isn't Khaddfy's Libya. I'm outraged that government authorities would even make the request of censorship.

[The Doctor.]

20. That pic...

Not one of them knows how to hold a tonfa.

God help them if they piss the protestors off, they're barely fucking trained. They rely too heavily on intimidation and firepower, but have no real martial skills to save their asses.

Good luck dumbasses. I'm sure the 0.1% will be so bent out of shape when some of you go down that they'll barely be able to lift their third snifter.

For everyone's sake, I hope you idiots stop trying to elicit violence.

[SwampG8r]

24. i had to ask my son what you meant

and yup these children will get schooled he says
i wonder if maybe their heart isnt really in it

[The Doctor.]

28. I hope you're right about that last bit.

That would mean they will break long before the protestors do.

Just curious, how does your son know this?

[SwampG8r]

30. he has been a student of

shorin ryu since he was about 6

[louslobbs]

21. Good! K&R n/t

Lou

[Quantess]

22. Thanks, Google!

Good news!

[woo me with science]

23. Sounds good. Watch for more pressure on Google in the future, though.

Those actually present at the protests need to keep documenting and making sure there are other avenues for sharing information. Not to be cynical, but things may get stickier down the road, and who knows if articles like this are a way to make us trust that we are being given the whole story.

Trust, but verify.

K&R

[Douglas Carpenter]

25. this is so important and one of the few real deterrence against police brutality

[defendandprotect]

27. Good for Google -- !! Keep on tellin' it -- !!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

32. Very impressed with Google...maybe one mega-corp's integrity will rub off on others

People worldwide are screaming for integrity (among other things---but to me, 'integrity' names the core of it. IMHO)

[bvar22]

33. Google needs our support.

They WILL be targeted by TPTB.

Does anyone know how to send a Love Letter of support to Google?
I tried to Google It, but got distracted.



Solidarity99!
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[Wind Dancer]

34. K&R

Glad Google refused to memory hole the videos.

[HughBeaumont]

35. "If (__________) does it, it's not illegal."

Good on Google. DON'T kowtow to intimidation. DON'T censor criminal action.