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The person uploading videos to YouTube is responsible for getting the consent of the people in them—not the company hosting the videos. Google repeatedly made that point in Italy this week as part of its closing arguments in a case over privacy, triggered by a controversial video of some Italian teenagers bullying a handicapped boy. Depending on which way the Italian court sways, the final decision could affect how online video services are run or served in Italy.

The story started in 2006 with a group of bored high schoolers who had a video-capable cell phone. The teens decided to harass another youth with Down Syndrome, both verbally and by hitting him on the head with a box of tissues. They recorded video of the abuse and then put the video online using Google Video Italia.

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Cyberbullying is a delicate subject that is better met with education than with laws to criminalize it, testimony before the House Judiciary Committee suggested yesterday. Most experts testifying at the hearing agreed that criminalization would be difficult—both from an enforcement standpoint and also Constitutionally—while education would offer a better approach to some of the nuances of cyberbullying.

The two bills discussed at the Committee hearing were Representative Linda Sanchez’s (D-CA) “Megan Meier Cyber Bullying Prevention Act” and Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-FL) “Adolescent Web Awareness Requires Education Act” (H.R. 1966 and H.R. 3630, respectively).

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By Eric Goldman

United States v. Drew, 2:08-cr-00582-GW (C.D. Cal. Aug. 28, 2009)

Almost 2 months ago, the judge presiding over the Lori Drew trial orally announced that he intended to rule in favor of Drew, but it was a little hard to decipher his statements without a written ruling. On Friday, the judge issued his written ruling, which indicates that he granted Drew’s FRCP 29(c) motion for a post-verdict acquittal. I haven’t seen any announcement of the prosecution’s response and whether they plan to appeal. This ruling also has no direct bearing on any civil claims against Drew. Nevertheless, for now, Lori Drew has been fully acquitted of the criminal charges brought against her.

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By Eric Goldman

D.C. v. Harvard-Westlake School, 2009 WL 2500343 (Cal. App. Ct. Aug. 14, 2009)

Harvard-Westlake is a highly-regarded private school in the Los Angeles basin with an impressive alumni roster and a lot of very affluent parents. I’ve known a few alums and, based on their descriptions, they seemed to have a remarkable and resource-rich experience far beyond what I had in public school.

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“MySpace mom” Lori Drew has had her misdemeanor guilty verdict overturned by the federal judge handling the case, the LA Times reports. Violating a website’s terms of use is not, it seems, a federal crime after all.

Horrible things aren’t always crimes

The guilty verdict against Lori Drew, prosecutors crowed, would send an “overwhelming message” to online bullies. Though she escaped conviction on felony charges, the 49-year-old Missouri mom could have still faced three years in prison or fines of up to 0,000 for launching an online harassment campaign that ended in the suicide of a teenage neighbor. Drew was due to be sentenced today.

But the “message,” legal observers worried, may be that anyone who uses a website without paying close attention to those ubiquitous Terms of Service risks committing a federal crime. The judge shared those concerns.

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