Close X
Thursday, November 28, 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

    Evergreen Extension Officially Open To The Public

    Construction of the Evergreen extension, its stations and public plazas created an estimated 8,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction. The project is now complete and trains are ready to start taking passengers at noon today. 

    Evergreen Extension Officially Open To The Public

    Surrey's High Risk Drivers To Be Targeted In Project Swoop

    Surrey's High Risk Drivers To Be Targeted In Project Swoop
    The campaign will continue throughout the week at multiple locations in Surrey.

    Surrey's High Risk Drivers To Be Targeted In Project Swoop

    Rescuers In Northwestern B.C. Search Remote Highway For Missing Oregon Man

    Rescuers In Northwestern B.C. Search Remote Highway For Missing Oregon Man
    A news release from the RCMP says family members report Tony Adevai was driving from Oregon to his home in Alaska when he disappeared.

    Rescuers In Northwestern B.C. Search Remote Highway For Missing Oregon Man

    'You Lose Your Whole Family In An Instant:' Calgary Mom Charged In Son's Death Tells Cop

    'You Lose Your Whole Family In An Instant:' Calgary Mom Charged In Son's Death Tells Cop
    CALGARY — A Calgary woman charged in the death of her son says she intended to take him to the hospital once his health took a turn for the worse.

    'You Lose Your Whole Family In An Instant:' Calgary Mom Charged In Son's Death Tells Cop

    Maryam Monsef Apologizes To Electoral Reform Committee For Commons Outburst

    Maryam Monsef Apologizes To Electoral Reform Committee For Commons Outburst
    Monsef issued the apology during today's daily question period, much of which she spent on her feet addressing the controversy from the day before.

    Maryam Monsef Apologizes To Electoral Reform Committee For Commons Outburst

    Sentencing Of Suspended RCMP Officer And His Wife Postponed

    Sentencing Of Suspended RCMP Officer And His Wife Postponed
    OTTAWA — Sentencing for a suspended RCMP counterterrorism officer and his wife, both found guilty in the severe abuse of an 11-year-old boy, has been put off.

    Sentencing Of Suspended RCMP Officer And His Wife Postponed