Information Society Watch

September 2, 2006, Washington Post

Google is complying with a Brazilian court's orders to release data that could help identify users accused of participating in Orkut groups that encourage racism, pedophilia and homophobia. This move is despite the rejection of a US Justice Department request for similar information relating to a broad civil case. The reason for the distinction is one of scale, and Google has complied because Brazil is requesting small amounts of information. While the Orkut website eliminates objectionable words and pictures from user sites, Google keeps track of content potentially useful in a lawsuit. This raises issues that internet users will be targets of law enforment as long as internet companies continue to store implicating data.

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