I was clicking around Time's Website this morning when I found a story about Diego Maradona suing the Argentine versions of Yahoo and Google to limit searches related to their names.
The implications of this are disturbing, to say the least.
Argentines clicking on the local version of Yahoo in search of information about their country's most legendary soccer star (and current national team coach) are in for a disappointment. All they'll see is a disclaimer in Spanish stating: "Due to a court order requested by private parties, we find ourselves obliged to temporarily suspend all or some of the results related to this search." The only exceptions are links to major news media sites.
[snip]
What worries the search engines is that the ruling's legal principle effectively holds them responsible for the content of web sites turned up in their searches.
An attorney in Buenos Aires argues that search engines should be required to filter out pornographic material, as well as any other material offensive to their clients. His view is that without the links in Yahoo or Google, nobody would even know these sites even exist.
Quite rightly, the search engines argue that they shouldn't be held responsible for what their searches turn up.
A spokesperson for Google Argentina labeled the lawsuit "completely illogical. It would be like suing the newsstand for what appears in the newspapers it sells. Or demanding the newsstand vendor to tear out offending pages from the newspapers. The lawsuits should be against the websites carrying the information, not us."
Another note to consider--such a sweeping order is all but unenforceable, as Argentines can simply go to other versions of Yahoo or Google. That is one of many reasons I'd like to think this couldn't possibly happen here. That, and the fact that I find it hard to believe any American court would be willing to grant such a sweeping injunction restricting freedom of speech.
Nonetheless, it's hard not to believe somebody could try a stunt like this in an American court in the near future.