Search Newz – Lexington,KY,USA :
By: Doug Caverly
2006-08-15
Google seems to be encountering some difficulties overseas. In Brazil, the government is attempting to force the company to disclose information on certain Orkut users. Authorities may fine Google, or could even close down its Brazilian bureau. And in Bahrain, the government may or may not be blocking Google Earth.
According to Brazzil Magazine, “Brazil is charging the American Internet company with causing moral damages to the country, presenting illicit contents in its invitation-only relationship site and then protecting criminals, refusing to name those responsible for posting illegal material.” The government is expected to file civil and criminal lawsuits against Google shortly.
Search Newz – Lexington,KY,USA :
By: Doug Caverly
2006-08-15Google seems to be encountering some difficulties overseas. In Brazil, the government is attempting to force the company to disclose information on certain Orkut users. Authorities may fine Google, or could even close down its Brazilian bureau. And in Bahrain, the government may or may not be blocking Google Earth.
According to Brazzil Magazine, “Brazil is charging the American Internet company with causing moral damages to the country, presenting illicit contents in its invitation-only relationship site and then protecting criminals, refusing to name those responsible for posting illegal material.” The government is expected to file civil and criminal lawsuits against Google shortly.
The Mountain View-based company has defended itself, “saying that it always cooperates with the Brazilian authorities when it is asked to comply through the company head office in the US.” Also, “the company’s press department released a note telling that the site has developed ‘tools to detect and remove inappropriate content in the site.'”
Elsewhere in the world, would-be users found that Google Earth was inaccessible. The problem seemed to be confined to Bahrain. The Gulf Daily News reported that “a number of Bahraini websites have been blocked for their political content” in the past, according to Nabeel Rajab, the vice president of the “now-dissolved” Bahrain Centre for Human Rights.
The article’s author, Tariq Khonji, seemed to get the runaround when he tried to interview two government officials. In Khonji’s words, they “remained tight-lipped on whether or not they were responsible for blocking” Google Earth.
Brazil and Bahrain . . . if the pattern continues, expect to see more problems for Google issue out of Botswana, or perhaps Bangladesh