Google to block YouTube video in Brazil

Google-owned YouTube said it will block a video clip in Brazil that is critical of a political candidate after a court denied its appeal to keep the clip on its video-sharing website.

A Brazilian court had ordered YouTube to remove two video clips that criticized a mayoral candidate embroiled in a paternity suit, The Associated Press reported earlier this week. Google argued that it is not responsible for the content uploaded to YouTube and pushed back against the court order. 

Fabio Coelho, the director of Google's operations in Brazil, said in a company blog post on Thursday that it was "deeply disappointed" with the court's decision to deny its appeal and said Google had "no choice" but to block the video.

"We are deeply disappointed that we have never had the full opportunity to argue in court that these were legitimate free speech videos and should remain available in Brazil," Coelho said. "Despite all this, we will continue to campaign for free expression globally — not just because it’s a key tenet of free societies, but also because more information generally means more choice, more power, more economic opportunity and more freedom for people."

Police detained Coelho on Wednesday after Google refused to remove the video clips, and released him after questioning. Brazil has stringent laws that restrict the type of content critics can air on TV about a candidate before an election, the AP reported.

Coelho said a user who published one of the video clips in question has now removed it and closed their YouTube account, "showing just what a chilling effect these episodes can have on free speech."

Google is also facing a series of fines if it does not comply with another Brazilian court order to remove clips of the controversial "Innocence of Muslims" movie trailer from YouTube, according to the AP. The video is believed to have set off violent protests targeted at U.S. embassies abroad.