Google: don't give private "trolls" Web censorship power

Google: don't give private "trolls" Web censorship power
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/04/google-private-web-censorship-lawsuits-would-create-trolls.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

Appearing at today’s “Legitimate Sites v. Parasites” hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, Google’s Kent Walker was clear: a private right of action to bring a COICA claim would give rightsholders tremendous leverage over Google. Walker went so far as to warn of “shakedowns” from private companies wanting to force changes in Google’s behavior.

In his written remarks, Walker expanded on the thought. “Policymakers should foreclose private rights of action and tailor intermediary requirements appropriately,” he said. “Given the evasive tactics bad actors employ to avoid detection, no intermediary will be able to prevent all abuse of its systems, and efforts to legislate must be careful not to hold intermediaries responsible for abuses of their systems that could not reasonably be prevented. Legislation should not include a private right of action that would invite suits by ‘trolls’ to extort settlements from intermediaries or sites who are making good faith efforts to comply with the law.”

We should all be thankful that Google is still attempting to bring a rational voice to the conversation. 

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