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    Exclamation Canada claims the right to block content from the internet World Wide

    Canada’s Supreme Court upheld a British Columbia court ruling today that ordered Google to de-list entire domains and websites from its global search index.

    The 7-2 landmark ruling stems from case Google v. Equustek, which began when BC-based technology company Equustek Solutions accused distributor Datalink Technology Gateways of relabeling one of its products and selling it as their own online. Further, Equustek also claimed Datalink acquired trade secrets in order to create a similar competing product. Datalink first denied the accusations, then fled the province, continuing business operations, mostly outside of Canada. Datalink representatives never appeared in court, and Equustek won default judgment.

    Though Google was never directly named in the lawsuit, Equustek requested that the search engine remove Datalink search results until the allegations could be tested. Google did so voluntarily, de-indexing over 300 websites associated with Datalink, but only on the Canadian version of the search engine.

    The Supreme Court of BC then granted a broader injunction ordering Google to stop displaying search results globally for any Datalink websites, which Google appealed in the Supreme Court of Canada. The court found in favor of Equustek, rejecting Google’s argument that the right to freedom of expression should have prevented the order from being issued.

    Justice Rosalie Abella called Google a “determinative player” in allowing harm to Equustek. The court wrote in its ruling: “This is not an order to remove speech that, on its face, engages freedom of expression values. We have not, to date, accepted that freedom of expression requires the facilitation of the unlawful sale of goods." It further added, “The problem, in this case, is occurring online and globally. The internet has no borders; its natural habitat is global. The only way to ensure the interlocutory injunction [order] attained its objective was to have it apply where Google operates – globally.”

    While it stands to reason that the court is enjoining Datalink’s behavior (an injunction can be granted for anywhere in the world in order to ensure the injunction’s effectiveness), it also raises the issue of Canadian law (or any country’s law) overruling conduct that is legal in other countries.

    Several rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, the BC Civil Liberties Association, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) intervened in the case. Following the ruling the EFF wrote:

    The ruling largely sidesteps the question of whether such a global order would violate foreign law or intrude on internet users’ free speech rights. Instead, the court focused on whether or not Google, as a private actor, could legally choose to take down speech and whether that would violate foreign law. This framing results in Google being ordered to remove speech under Canadian law even if no court in the United States could issue a similar order.

    Nonprofit trade organization Music Canada applauded the ruling, seeing it as a statement on creators’ rights. The president of Music Canada, Graham Henderson, said, “This is welcome news for creators of all stripes who rely on the internet as their primary market and for whom illegal online activity can instantly wipe out careers and destroy investment in new releases.”

    Google cannot appeal the Supreme Court ruling. A spokesperson for the company told CBC News it is "reviewing the court's findings and evaluating our next steps."
    TLDR: Canada's supreme court ruled that if a Canadian court orders an injunction against something, Google must delist it world wide, simply blocking that content in Canada isn't enough

    This seems like a huge blow against the freedom of the internet and a gross overreach of a country's power. Complying with this order would be suicide for Google. Once they give in to this kind of decision in one country, I guarantee that other countries will start demanding certain content to be banned too. Once to much content starts getting banned people will switch to smaller search engines that operate outside of those countries and don't care about what they say. Google will take a huge financial hit, but I don't see a way out of this except for Google to completely pull out of Canada. Perhaps create a separate company that only operates inside Canada and complies so that Canada can't do anything about this?

    https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/28/1...ustek-datalink
    Last edited by Utinil; 2017-06-29 at 04:53 AM. Reason: forgot links

  2. #2
    Canada has no legit claim to tell google what to do outside of Canada. Google was nice in volunteering to take down what they did and not telling Canada court to go fuck itself. Canada is waaaay too small a country to tell Google what to do.
    People working 2 jobs in the US (at least one part-time) - 7.8 Million (Roughly 4.9% of the workforce)

    People working 2 full-time jobs in the US - 360,000 (0.2% of the workforce)

    Average time worked weekly by the US Workforce - 34.5 hours

  3. #3
    The Patient sonololo's Avatar
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    ...seriously, when reading that article, I sometimes misread Canada as China. Eh.

  4. #4
    I am Murloc! zephid's Avatar
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    It doesn't really matter what the Canadian Supreme Court says, their jurisdiction ends at the Canadian border.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by zephid View Post
    It doesn't really matter what a Canadian court claims, Google doesn't have to comply with the request.
    Not entirely true. As long as Google accepts money from companies to advertise in Canada they are subject to Canadian laws. Canada could prevent Google from being able to take any ad revenue from businesses based entirely in Canada.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Utinil View Post
    Not entirely true. As long as Google accepts money from companies to advertise in Canada they are subject to Canadian laws. Canada could prevent Google from being able to take any ad revenue from businesses based entirely in Canada.
    How? How do they even plan to stop google if it doesn't comply with the worldwide ban? How can it stop google from still coming onto Canadian internet without issuing a second order that the big ISPs in Canada must stop them. If Google takes Canadian ad dollars does the government plan on just stealing them? No new law written and discussed and voted on? Just a couple jackasses on a bench get to decide all this?

    And so people are clear, google isn't in the wrong here. Datalink was the one that fucked up. And I can see why the court would tell THEM to cease and desist. But telling a third party American company that their algorithm must exclude search results for said wrong doer all over the world? Fuck Canada in its mentally retarded ass.
    Last edited by Kapadons; 2017-06-29 at 06:14 AM.
    People working 2 jobs in the US (at least one part-time) - 7.8 Million (Roughly 4.9% of the workforce)

    People working 2 full-time jobs in the US - 360,000 (0.2% of the workforce)

    Average time worked weekly by the US Workforce - 34.5 hours

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by zephid View Post
    It doesn't really matter what the Canadian Supreme Court says, their jurisdiction ends at the Canadian border.
    No one is actually debating that. But it puts Google in a bad position if they don't comply with the silly ruling they could lose a lot of business in Canada.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Kapadons View Post
    And so people are clear, google isn't in the wrong here. Datalink was the one that fucked up. And I can see why the court would tell THEM to cease and desist. But telling a third party American company that their algorithm must exclude search results for said wrong doer all over the world? Fuck Canada in its SJW ass.
    We really managed to bring up SJW in a topic about a court ruling to protect a business.
    Quote Originally Posted by Zantos View Post
    There are no 2 species that are 100% identical.
    Quote Originally Posted by Redditor
    can you leftist twits just fucking admit that quantum mechanics has fuck all to do with thermodynamics, that shit is just a pose?

  9. #9
    Canada Population: 35.85 million (2015)

    World Population: 7.5 Billion (2017)

    Ill subtract 2 billion people that dont have access to internet. Also, what would the people of Canada think of their government if they lost access to the most used search provider in the world? Over some lawsuit about companies they probably never heard of.

  10. #10
    Warchief Nazrark's Avatar
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    This seems more like a copy right issue. Where a Canadian company is trying to get a company to stop making items that are rip offs of what they made originally. If they took it to International Trade Court. The Canadian company would win and Datalink would have substantial penalties because they fled Canada to prevent themselves from having to prove they came up with the idea.

    This seems more or less. Hey these people here are really shady with their business. Google seems to do this world wide when it comes to some very illegal things.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Garnier Fructis View Post
    We really managed to bring up SJW in a topic about a court ruling to protect a business.
    If that's all it was, no one would care. But Canada doesn't get to tell an American company that did nothing wrong what they do outside of Canada. And yes, I say the same thing when/if an American court did the same thing. An American court has no legal standing to tell an Australian company what to do outside of America.

    Difference is Canada has neither the political or economic clout to back this up. I'd be surprised if an American court doesn't issue an opposite ruling just to shit in Canada's mouth.
    Last edited by Kapadons; 2017-06-29 at 06:00 AM.
    People working 2 jobs in the US (at least one part-time) - 7.8 Million (Roughly 4.9% of the workforce)

    People working 2 full-time jobs in the US - 360,000 (0.2% of the workforce)

    Average time worked weekly by the US Workforce - 34.5 hours

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Kapadons View Post
    If that's all it was, no one would care. But Canada doesn't get to tell an American company that did nothing wrong what they do outside of Canada. And yes, I say the same thing when/if an American court did the same thing. An American court has no legal standing to tell an Australian company what to do outside of America.

    Difference is Canada has neither the political or economic clout to back this up. I'd be surprised if an American court doesn't issue an opposite ruling just to shit in Canada's mouth.
    Which are fine points, but all of which still have nothing to do with SJW's.
    Quote Originally Posted by Zantos View Post
    There are no 2 species that are 100% identical.
    Quote Originally Posted by Redditor
    can you leftist twits just fucking admit that quantum mechanics has fuck all to do with thermodynamics, that shit is just a pose?

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Garnier Fructis View Post
    Which are fine points, but all of which still have nothing to do with SJW's.
    I thought we had moved beyond that and accepted SJW as just another synonym for 'person I dislike'.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Jakexe View Post
    I thought we had moved beyond that and accepted SJW as just another synonym for 'person I dislike'.
    That was sort of the accusation I was building up to, but yeah. Here it is.
    Quote Originally Posted by Zantos View Post
    There are no 2 species that are 100% identical.
    Quote Originally Posted by Redditor
    can you leftist twits just fucking admit that quantum mechanics has fuck all to do with thermodynamics, that shit is just a pose?

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Garnier Fructis View Post
    Which are fine points, but all of which still have nothing to do with SJW's.
    This particular ruling, you are right. But I wasn't referring to this ruling when I claimed Canada a SJW.

    But Canadian courts as of late have been issuing a slew of dipshit rulings that just drip with SJW rhetoric and white knighting. And very little basis in reason or actual law.

    Without even mentioning King SJW Trueblow.

    But to make you feel better, I edited the post to remove SJW. Since it's all you seemed to add to the conversation, I'm sure you will be happy and move along to more troublesome things.
    Last edited by Kapadons; 2017-06-29 at 06:16 AM.
    People working 2 jobs in the US (at least one part-time) - 7.8 Million (Roughly 4.9% of the workforce)

    People working 2 full-time jobs in the US - 360,000 (0.2% of the workforce)

    Average time worked weekly by the US Workforce - 34.5 hours

  16. #16
    Void Lord Doctor Amadeus's Avatar
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    After the Russian thing, I am not surprised and I can't say it is a bad idea. It's full of all kinds of problems but then again we can detain people suspected of being terrorist suspects forever and with no lawyer. So ill refrain from speaking all self righteous.
    Milli Vanilli, Bigger than Elvis

  17. #17
    Banned Kellhound's Avatar
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    France has been trying to force Google to do something far far worse: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...ace-big-fines/

  18. #18
    Wait so... they don't want the sites blocked in Canada, they just want Google to de-list them from their search engine?

    Which presumably they could do in a Canadian localisation of Google if they wanted to anyway.
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  19. #19
    We need to invade Canada, they are becoming a threat to us.

  20. #20
    Herald of the Titans Serpha's Avatar
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    Welcome to fascist Canada.

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