Google bosses on trial in Italy

The trial of four Google executives has begun in Milan with an engineer from the search giant giving evidence.

The executives are accused of breaking Italian law in allowing a video of a teenager with Down's Syndrome to be posted online.

The case, subject to lengthy delays, could have major ramifications for content providers around the globe.

Engineer Jeremy Doig's testimony sought to show that "Google had not committed any crime", said Google's lawyer.

The executives standing trial are David Carl Drummond, head of Google Italy's managing board; George De Los Reyes, a board member; Peter Fleitcher, in charge of privacy protection in Europe; and Arvind Desikan, head of videos for Europe.

Privacy law

The video, posted on Google Video in 2006 shortly before the firm acquired YouTube, showed a teenager with Down's Syndrome being bullied by four students in front of more than a dozen others.

Prosecutors argue that Google did not have adequate content filters or enough staff to monitor videos.

They also argue that Google broke Italian privacy law by uploading the content without the consent of all parties involved.