If you are a judge, before you go off issuing an injunction requiring all ISPs in your country to prevent your citizens from viewing the most popular video website on the Internet, you may just want to check and see how comfortably your foot fits in your mouth.
The Brazilian judge who forced his country’s ISPs to block YouTube has just reversed his decision. Internet surfers around the world had universally decried the decision as overbroad and ill-conceived. Although the judge lifted the injunction, the judge admonished YouTube that he would reinstate the injunction if he did not feel YouTube was taking appropriate steps to prevent the video from being viewed in Brazil.
Some judges are known for making rulings on things they know little or nothing about. When faced with a legal issue relating to the Internet, however, such judges would be well-advised to suppress their deep-seated urges to make international spectacles of themselves. While Internet surfers spend much of their time arguing with each other, when given the chance, they enjoy nothing more than vindicating perceived transgressions against a common enemy. Another ruling like his first injunction and this Brazillian judge may want to investigate upgrading his firewall to the OMGBGentle9000.
Internet law Daniela Cicarelli Renato Malzoni YouTube
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