Close X
Thursday, October 31, 2024
ADVT 
National

Free Speech Vs. Copyright In Supreme Court Battle Between Google And B.C. Firm

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Dec, 2016 12:40 PM
    OTTAWA — A legal fight between Internet giant Google and a British Columbia technology company unfolds today in the Supreme Court of Canada, where they will duel over competing free speech and copyright infringement issues.
     
    At issue is whether Canadian courts have the jurisdiction to make sweeping orders to block access to content on the Internet beyond Canada's borders.
     
    Google is challenging a 2015 ruling by the British Columbia Court of Appeal that ordered it to stop indexing or referencing websites linked to a company called Datalink Technologies Gateways.
     
    The B.C. appeal court granted that injunction at the request of Equustek Solutions Inc., which won a judgment against Datalink for essentially stealing, copying and reselling industrial network interface hardware that it created.
     
    Equustek wanted to stop Datalink from selling the hardware through various websites and turned to Google to shut down references to them.
     
    Initially, Google removed more than 300 URLs from search results on Google.ca, but more kept popping up, so Equustek sought — and won — the broader injunction that ordered Google to impose a worldwide ban.
     
    Google fought back against the "worldwide order" arguing that Canadian courts don't have the legal authority to impose such an injunction.
     
     
    Its written argument to the Supreme Court calls the injunction "an improper and unprecedented extension of Canadian jurisprudence."
     
    Equustek's lawyers argue in their written submission that there is no issue of freedom of expression at play in the case. The only purpose of the offending websites "is to generate profit for the outlaw Datalink defendants and their collaborators by selling illegal products in violation of multiple court orders."
     
    The company's lawyers say their clients created "complex industrial equipment."
     
    "The defendants are not selling counterfeit handbags or watches on street corners," they argue.
     
    "If the court is powerless to act in the face of this kind of conduct, then we no longer live in a world ruled by law."
     
    Equustek's lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.
     
    Google lawyer David Price said if his client loses, it could lead to a proliferation of removal orders across the globe.
     
    "That may embolden countries whose perspectives on free expression may not align with Canada," he said in an interview from London.
     
    That view is shared by the New York-based Human Rights Watch, which has been granted intervener status by the Supreme Court.
     
    It argues that "an injunction issued by a court in one country which restricts freedom of expression in another country will rarely, if ever, be consistent with international human rights law."
     
    Human Rights Watch is joining a coalition of civil liberties groups, as well as 15 news organizations including Dow Jones, the Newspaper Association of America and The Associated Press. They argue the Canadian courts are overextending themselves and threatening free speech across the globe.
     
     
    Equustek has the support of a coalition of Canadian publishers, authors, composers and filmmakers, as well as an international federation of film producers. They take exception with Google's argument that it cannot be "deputized by a court to deindex a site."
     
    The  issues in the case are part of a growing global trend of "intermediary liability" where companies such as Google are being pressed to take down harmful or illegal content, said Fen Hampson, an Canadian foreign affairs expert and author of "Look Who's Watching," a new book on the evolution of the Internet.
     
    The European Court of Justice has upheld the "right to be forgotten," which upholds the removal of defamatory or inaccurate personal information if it comes up in a search engine such as Google, he said.
     
    "In this case, Google (the intermediary) was asked by the B.C. court to deal with a copyright infringement issue, but the concept can be applied to other issues such as trademark disputes, defamation, hate speech, censorship or the protection of privacy."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Former Royal Winnipeg Ballet Student Suing School, Former Instructor

    Former Royal Winnipeg Ballet Student Suing School, Former Instructor
    She says she suffered mental distress, body image issues, eating disorders and nightmares.

    Former Royal Winnipeg Ballet Student Suing School, Former Instructor

    TD Bank Hiking Rates For Longer Mortgages And Rental Properties Thursday

    TD Bank Hiking Rates For Longer Mortgages And Rental Properties Thursday
    Effective Dec. 1, the lender will charge an additional 10 basis points to their overall rate for all new fixed amortizations of 25 years or more.

    TD Bank Hiking Rates For Longer Mortgages And Rental Properties Thursday

    Health Canada Moves To Restrict Chemicals Used To Make Deadly Drug Fentanyl

    OTTAWA — The Canadian government is moving to c

    Health Canada Moves To Restrict Chemicals Used To Make Deadly Drug Fentanyl

    B.C. Panel Reviewing Domestic-violence Deaths Calls For More Support For Victims

    VICTORIA — A panel that examined 100 domestic-violence deaths in British Columbia says few victims tell anyone what's happening in their lives before they are killed and even professionals may not know how to they can help.

    B.C. Panel Reviewing Domestic-violence Deaths Calls For More Support For Victims

    Woman Escapes Serious Injury In Parcel Bomb Explosion In Penticton, B.C.

    Woman Escapes Serious Injury In Parcel Bomb Explosion In Penticton, B.C.
    She found a small parcel in holiday wrapping paper at the foot of her driveway Wednesday morning.

    Woman Escapes Serious Injury In Parcel Bomb Explosion In Penticton, B.C.

    Skateboarder Shot In Hand In Random East Vancouver Drive-by

    Skateboarder Shot In Hand In Random East Vancouver Drive-by
    The VPD are asking the public for information regarding a random shooting in East Vancouver last month that left a skateboarder with a bullet hole through his hand.

    Skateboarder Shot In Hand In Random East Vancouver Drive-by