Not surprisingly, most news sources and blogs have been commenting on the conviction of three Google executives in Italy. As one example, Rachel Donadio reports:
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.
Bill Echikson, a spokesman for Google, called a judge’s ruling against executives “astonishing.”
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.
Read more in the New York Times
Related: Google statement, Fleischer comments.