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Google Sues LATAM Airlines in U.S. Over Brazilian YouTube Video Takedown Dispute

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Google filed a lawsuit against Chile-based LATAM Airlines on Thursday in a U.S. federal court, seeking a declaration that Brazilian courts cannot compel the company to remove a YouTube video from the U.S. platform. The video, posted by a U.S. resident, accuses a LATAM employee of sexually abusing a child.

The tech giant alleges that LATAM is attempting to bypass U.S. free speech protections by pursuing legal action in Brazil to force a global takedown of the video. Google argues that courts should only have jurisdiction over content accessible within their own countries.

The video in question was posted in 2018 by Raymond Moreira, a Florida resident, featuring his six-year-old son detailing abuse allegations involving a LATAM employee during a trip as an unaccompanied minor. Moreira previously sued LATAM in Florida, resulting in a confidential settlement.

LATAM initiated legal proceedings in Brazil in 2018 seeking removal of the video worldwide. A Brazilian appeals court is expected to decide soon whether it can order Google to remove the video globally.

Google’s case in California challenges this extraterritorial reach and asks the court to affirm that LATAM cannot enforce the Brazilian order in the U.S.

This lawsuit follows a similar legal battle involving U.S.-based social media companies Trump Media and Rumble, who contested a Brazilian judge’s order to remove certain accounts from their platforms in the U.S., with a federal judge ruling in favor of the companies’ U.S. free speech protections.

Brazil’s Supreme Court Moves Toward Holding Social Media Platforms Accountable for User Posts

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Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that social media platforms may be held responsible for certain illegal content posted by users on their sites, though key details of the ruling remain unresolved. In a preliminary vote, six of the 11 justices favored holding platforms accountable, which could lead to fines for companies that fail to remove unlawful posts.

This decision affects major players like Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, Elon Musk’s X, and Alphabet’s Google in Brazil’s vast market of over 200 million users. Currently, under Brazilian law, platforms are only liable if they ignore a court order to remove content. The court majority sees this as a “veil of irresponsibility,” as Justice Gilmar Mendes stated, since companies are not presently held accountable even when aware of illegal content.

Meta warned in a 2024 statement that such a ruling could make platforms liable for nearly all types of content without prior notification. Google expressed openness to improving the law but emphasized the need for clear procedures to avoid legal uncertainty and indiscriminate content removal. TikTok and X representatives in Brazil did not respond to requests for comment.

The court has yet to define which content types would be considered illegal and is working towards consensus. Four judges are yet to vote in this ongoing trial, with the next session scheduled for Thursday. Changing earlier votes is possible but rare.

Judge Rejects Class Action Lawsuit Over Google Chrome Privacy Claims

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A U.S. federal judge ruled on Monday that people alleging Google illegally collected their personal data from Google Chrome browsers without syncing with Google accounts cannot proceed with a class action lawsuit against Alphabet’s unit.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, agreed with Google that claims should be handled individually to determine if millions of Chrome users understood and consented to the company’s data collection policies.

“Inquiries relating to Google’s implied consent defense will overwhelm the damages claims for all causes of action,” the judge wrote. She dismissed the proposed damages class action with prejudice, barring it from being filed again. Additionally, Chrome users were denied the ability to seek policy changes as a group.

Google’s Vice President of Litigation, Sandi Knight, said the company appreciated the decision and noted that Chrome Sync includes clear privacy controls. Plaintiffs’ lawyer David Straite declined to comment.

The ruling follows a 2024 federal appeals court decision instructing Judge Rogers to assess whether reasonable Chrome users consented to Google collecting their data during browsing. Plaintiffs argued that Chrome’s privacy notice misled users by stating they “don’t need to provide any personal information to use Chrome” and that Google would only collect data if users enabled the sync feature.

Judge Rogers had previously dismissed the case in December 2022 but continues to oversee two other privacy lawsuits against Google with different claims. The appeals court decision came after Google agreed in 2023 to destroy billions of data records to settle a lawsuit related to tracking users in Incognito mode.

Case: Calhoun et al v Google LLC, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 22-16993.