Italy 2 Technology 0 – The Battle in World Cup Technology

There is something in the air of Italy that is making them combative. It may not just be that they are the defending World Cup Champions getting ready to score again in South Africa. The government and legislation authority are fighting technology against two of the biggest names on the internet: Google and Facebook. Italy convicts 3 Google execs in abuse video case and Facebook vs. Italy paints a country that either will not let their citizens’ dignity be overwhelmed by a free internet or refuses to allow their citizens full and equal access to information.  

These two cases have not been given enough press in America. There is a definite bias since Italy is basically censoring Google the same way China did. To be fair, Time did do the subject justice in Berlusconi vs. Google: Will Italy Censor YouTube?, which is a must read if the internet and communication is your business or passion. The trends in recent nations have been a backlash against the industry’s corporate giants who refuse to monitor or regulate the material. The almighty dollar and entrepreneurial spirit of these American businesses are being held accountable around the world for their degradation against the individual. Since 1996, internet companies have not been held accountable by the American courts for their content. Are the cases above and the explosion of content available enough to revisit these policies and change them? Or should we let information flow with open access to everyone and let the moral pieces fall where they will?

The argument will present a hearty lunch but one that is pivotal to democracy and an educated voting electorate. The most obvious counters are the rights of individual to privacy and perhaps more important, the well being and security of the nation. Google has to adhere to the sovereign states’ courts and governmental policies unless they become a nation themselves (which may not be too far into the future – imagine dual citizenship one in the real world and one in the virtual). Italy has a right to protect its citizens from a business that they see meant harm by not policing their content. China had a right to do the same thing. The difference is that Italians who are unhappy with the policy may move to a more lenient place or at the least blog away their discontent. Countries should have the right to make businesses that work in their borders or on their computers follow their law.  In these two cases above, the government had to act on their citizens’ behalf because violated rights, the violence of the subject matter, and the detriment to the physical and emotional well being of the individuals.  

What about our nation? Should Google be held accountable for the material they are presenting on the web? Should Facebook have an agency that is trying to protect their users from predators? Should there be a filter system created by these large companies that notify the public that the videos are indecent? Shouldn’t they at least be viewed once by the company that is making money distributing the material? The same thing with Facebook: should they be held accountable for threats or detrimental words and acts that directly stemmed from their communication platform?

Even after fifteen years or more, the internet is a wild, free place. It is good to see that some things have not changed. But the countries of the world are catching on and soon legislation will be in place that will limit information depending on where you are. Even more so, you could be held accountable for downloading a video in a nation that deems it illegal? It starts to make parents rethink where they will send their college students as they study abroad. It also may make you re-think your spring break plans to that villa in Tuscany.

Google and Facebook are engines for humans to communicate, learn and produce. As long as they remain out of the political field, accept everything and remain amoral, we should be upholding American ideals. The problem may be the increasing monopoly that if they do one day get political, there are very few communication companies going to be able to counter them. America must prevent this but as for the responsibility of the content, free and equal access must remain the protected and defended reality.

Italy has placed a face on Google and Facebook because they wanted to blame someone. Neither company did the horrible acts that hurt the individuals. The country has failed to see that the human dignity that they are upholding is actually being eroded by making Italians less aware of their reality by putting humans in charge of what others will see. As much as Italy, Google and Facebook can act, it will always be the humans that react. The reactions are why we have laws and a penal system. In any case, I sure hope the Italians weren’t planning on watching the Blue shirts on the internet because Google might just agree with the ban come June in South Africa.