Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Google Subpoenaed by American Airlines



It would appear that Google's legal dance card is quite full these days.

Elise Ackerman writes in The Mercury News:

American Airlines wants Google to reveal the identity of a person who the airline says posted a copyrighted video on Google's video Web site.

Filed under the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a subpoena issued Feb. 21 demands "all documents" concerning the person who posted a video titled ``Flight Attendant, Upside Down,'' on Google Video.

The airline claims the clip was excerpted from a copyrighted training video. If the video is copyrighted, Google will probably be forced to comply, said Cindy Cohn, legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based group that advocates for digital rights.

The airline's request highlights the limited protection of anonymity online. Although many Web sites say they will protect users' privacy, many also say they will turn over some material in legal disputes -- for example, copyrighted material.

"Hosts like Google won't be able to protect your anonymity, and in many instances won't be interested in it," Cohn said.

More here.

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