Google has been ordered by a Brazilian court to pay Formula One racing driver Rubens Barrichello $500,000 in damages for the presence of fake online profiles of the driver on its social network Orkut, which is hugely popular in the man’s home country.
The civil case, which was filed in July 2006, related to hundreds of fake profiles for Barrichello that were created on Orkut, some of which depicted him as a toy turtle – I kid you not.
Earlier this week, Brazilian media published the outcome of the Sao Paulo court’s ruling, which ordered Google to compensate Barrichello half a million dollars in damages upfront and a daily fine of $590 until all the profile pages relating to the F1 driver were removed from the social network. Note: different media report different amounts.
Google told local reporters that it will always remove illegal content from Orkut but does not feel responsible for all other content that appears on there, and they don’t expect to have to police negative commentary about celebrities. Google can still appeal the case in higher court.
This isn’t the first time Google finds itself in Brazilian courts over Orkut.
On August 22, 2006, a Brazilian Federal Judge ordered Google to release Orkut user’s information of a list of about two dozen Brazilian nationals, believed to be using the social network to sell drugs and to be involved in child pornography. The judge ordered Google to pay $23,000 per day in fines until the information was turned over to the Brazilian government. Google back then stated that it would not release the information, on the grounds that the requested information is on Google servers in the U.S. and not in Brazil, and is therefore not subject to its national laws.
For what it’s worth, multi-millionaire Barrichello was looking for ‘respect rather than money’, and that he would be donating the money awarded to him in court to his non-profit organization Barrichello Kanaan Foundation. On Monday, the F1 driver tweeted a quote from Swiss philosopher Henri-Frédéric Amiel (which I suspect was freely translated from his famous quote “There is no respect for others without humility in one’s self”).
My guess is he simply doesn’t like turtles.
(Via F1Planet)
What is an “F1 pilot”? I thought pilots flew planes, drivers drive cars.
What about flying cars?
Ah yes, good point.
Where’s Doc Brown when you need him?
In South America and Europe (where F1 is popular) the drivers are often referred to as “pilots.”
Actually the word “driver” is pejorative, meaning the car is so easy to use that the guy’s job could be done by anyone with a driving license.
lmao
looks like orkut was a good idea, the myspace killer.
NOT
How lame.
First the guy who won the case, and then gave up the money for charity.
Second, Google started paying for fake profiles
and
Third, a Brazilian court handled a Social Network issue?? – lol
What’s wrong with giving money to charity?
As if Orkut was not in deep enough trouble already in the two countries it still had some members left – Brazil and India.
what if some other charity work out with some celeb or public figure to create fake profile..sue google, get the money..donate back to that charity and split it half..any taker?..lol
1) He’s a driver, not a pilot
2) It’s noble of him to give money to charity – winning cases is not just about winning money
3) Could you not find a more up to date photo? He left Ferrari several years ago. He’s just joine Williams, having driven for Brawn GP this year.
You’ll actually find that most of the rest of the world (especially Brazil) call racing car drivers pilots, so it is correct to call him an F1 pilot.
You’re kind of missing the fact that the article is written in English, therefore pilot has a different meaning, ergo it’s wrong…
Ok I removed all references to the word ‘pilot’ to avoid more comments from people who think it’s incorrect.
And about the photo: I like that one better.
I question your journalistic integrity!
I question your integralistic journal!
Rubens does own and fly a Embraer Legacy personal jet. So he is in fact a F1 pilot.
First the guy who won the case, and then gave up the money for charity. Second, Google started paying for fake profiles
Haha, yes I saw ‘pilot’ coming to the article. He does of course own a private jet as Jenson Button (F1 World Champion this year), flew back on it from Brazil. I imagine Barrichello with his love of speed would take the controls now and then…so he could indeed be a pilot! But he is better known as a driver
The thing about the turtles: Barrichello was team mate to Michael Schumacher for six years, and Schumacher won titles in five of those seasons.
He was the tortoise to Schumacher’s hare – except in F1 the tortoise doesn’t usually win. Particularly when the tortoise is ordered to pull over and let the hare past, as Barrichello did twice. His complicity in what was widely seen as race-fixing didn’t endear him to a lot of fans.
Good of him to give the money to charity.
We see more ridiculous lawsuits in America but still this one is pretty high up there on the scale. However with any lawsuit it’s often not who is wrong but rather who has the money who can be painted as wrong. Unless Google employees where putting these sites up I imagine their TOS pretty explicitly states how not responsible for the content they are.
As for the “pilot” scandal… you shouldn’t have changed it. It’s far better to educate people, America isn’t the center of the universe.
Brazil fining Google haha( I twist my moustache) , “no chance”. Like all Google lawsuits they will appeal and go back to court after postponing 1000 times and everyone has forgotten the Brazilean Mario Andretti.
thats a huge money for him
is it wrong that i’m laughing so hard at this decision. man. to be this guy and known world over as a turtle.