Brazil Bans YouTube

A Brazilian court ordered the popular free video sharing Web site which lets users upload, view, and share video clips, YouTube be closed, until the erotic video of a well known Brazilian model be taken off. Daniela Cicarelli, the Brazilian supermodel, MTV announcer and ex-wife to soccer legend Ronaldinho, sued YouTube, after a video showing her and her current boyfriend, Brazilian banker Renato Malzoni taking intimate positions on a beach.

For days, the video has been the most widely viewed in Brazil. Cicarelli and Malzoni tried taking the video off the site, but every time they did, users uploaded back to the site under a different name. After several months Cicarelli and Malzoni filed a third lawsuit against YouTube, requesting the site be taken down altogether, as long as it displays the video. During the weekend the court accepted the couple`s request and ordered the website be taken off the web.

Industry experts say this ruling is irrelevant as YouTube is based in the United States and the Brazilian legal system holds no jurisdiction there. The Brazilian court ordered Brazilian telecommunication companies to block YouTube fro access from Brazilian users. Brasil Telecom SA adhered to the court order and YouTube was unavailable to users in the company`s service area, from Brasilia, Brazil`s capitol, to the Amazon. On the other hand, Areas under control of Brazil`s largest fixed-line operator Empresa Brasileira de Telecomunicacoes SA, could still access the site. The area controlled by the company includes Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, which are Brazil`s most highly internet using cities.

                                 

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