A steamy sex video starring a Brazilian supermodel has Internet upstart YouTube caught in a tug-of-war between a court order to remove the kinky clip and millions of its loyal users who keep putting the footage back on the Web site.
The case of Brazilian bombshell Daniela Cicarelli, who is trying to stop people in her home country from viewing racy footage of her, also raises a set of legal issues for the young video-sharing site and parent Google.
A Brazilian judge ordered YouTube to remove a clip of Cicarelli having sex with her banker boyfriend on a beach several months ago. YouTube has tried to comply by taking down the clip, but like a game of wack-a-mole, it just keeps popping up.
The case illustrates the challenges for sites like YouTube that depend on users to post clips.
More than 1 million videos are uploaded each day on YouTube, making it difficult to comb through the site to remove clips.
YouTube, News Corp’s MySpace and other sites that face copyright risks are trying to develop systems to identify pirated clips but effective technology doesn’t exist yet to weed them out.
“Even a company as large and well capitalized as Google, there are limits to do what they can do,” said Andrew Klungness, who specializes in technology and intellectual property rights at law firm Bryan Cave. “In this case, half of Brazil and the soccer fans of the world have seen it.”
A three-judge panel will review Cicarelli’s case next and decide whether YouTube should be fined $119,000 a day for each day that it fails to keep the video off its site.
Google has already set aside $200 million to fight YouTube litigation.
There are lingering fears that YouTube will be sued for copyright infringement because many of the clips on its site belong to big media and music companies.
Cicarelli’s suit raises a different set of legal questions.
In the U.S., public figures have the right to control their name, image and likeness. The average person on the street also can sue when their privacy has been invaded.
Cicarelli is a supermodel in her home country, the host of an MTV show and a former GM spokeswoman in Brazil. She was also engaged at one time to Brazilian soccer great Ronaldo.
“Video sites that show user-created content should be concerned not only about copyright issues but also other rights, such as the rights to publicity and privacy,” said Klungness.
