A Brazilian case against Google can have implications for its privacy policies in other nations.
An excerpt from the Christian Science Monitor article:
The Brazilian government wanted the names of suspected criminals using Google's "Orkut," the most popular social networking site (think MySpace or Facebook) in Brazil.
The nasty fight pitting two powerful and implacable sides against each other climaxed last Thursday with a judge's order: Hand over the data or face a daily fine of $900,000. Google has complied. In doing so, the company moved a step closer to establishing a global legal precedent on how Internet firms cooperate - or not - with government requests for information about Web users. It's a contentious issue that involves principles of personal privacy, political and commercial free speech, and fighting crime - be it pornography, pedophilia, racism, or terrorist plots.
Some human rights and free-speech groups hailed the case because, unlike in China, Google forced a showdown. By refusing initially to comply with local government authorities who failed to follow the correct legal procedures, they forced Brazil to deal with the American company rather than the Brazilian subsidiary. That, they say, is an important marker.
"Google's decision to make the legal procedures go through the American justice system is a good thing," says Julien Pain, head of the Internet freedom desk at Reporters Without Borders.
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