Found Google to be a publisher subject to defamation claims - this is huge and long over due.
“Google had failed to take responsibility for its conduct as a publisher.”
The judge found the tech giant failed to apply its own policies to prevent on hate speech, cyberbullying and harassment.
It failed to explain why it left the “many racist attacks” on YouTube once Mr Barilaro’s staff had complained in late 2020.
In December last year, a further video published from Mr Shanks referred “pointedly” to Mr Barilaro’s solicitor and the judge said they made allegations “without factual or intelligible basis” attacking the professional integrity of his legal team.
Justice Rares said this was a "splenetic and vindictive attack … calculated to bring improper pressure to intimidate each of them from continuing to act for Mr Barilaro".
Here is a video about the apology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxggIc8ft8Q
Really? This is the outcome he wanted?
The original videos are still up. I am not personally a fan of the humor of Jordan Shanks, and I don’t know whether the claims made in the videos about John Barilaro are true or false. But the videos still being up provides us with a good opportunity to get more context on this.
That video hardly seems like an apology.
But Google usually sidesteps a lot of liability by claiming it is not a publisher (section 230) and this judge said Google was a publisher. That I believe is significant.