Google has been ordered to pay a fine of about $500,000 because of fake profiles on its Social Networking Site, Orkut. Google will have to pay formula one driver Rubens Barrichello half a million dollars in damages because it hosted fake profiles of him on social networking site, Orkut. According to motorsport.com a court in Sao Paolo, Brazil, ordered Google - which owns Orkut - to pay $500,000 damages but this could rise to $700,000, because there could be an extra daily fine. Along with the half-million, Google was ordered to pay a daily fine of about $590 until the fake pages were removed from the social network. Media said there were more than 300 fake profiles under Mr Barrichelo's name on Orkut. The case began in July 2006.
Orkut, owned by Google, has a big following in Brazil, though it is losing some ground to a new Portuguese-language version of Facebook that has become available. The 15th district court of Sao Paulo hearing the civil case determined that Google's responsibility was proved because it managed the site and established the rules for its use. The US Internet company made no immediate comment on the judgement. Brazilian specialists said the amount of damages was the biggest yet awarded for false web profiles and online libel.
According to Computer Weekly, Google says in its statement: " We would first like to clarify that this is only an initial judgement and we look forward to the reconsideration of this decision on appeal by the Court of Appeals. Mr Rubens Barrichello is a public figure, and as such is subject to both the positive and negative expression of public opinion. In this sense, Google reaffirms that we are not responsible for any injury to Mr Barrichello's public image and we believe that a better solution will be affirmed upon the definitive and final judgement of the case by the appellate courts."
Some other social media sites try to prevent people from assuming the identity of others. Twitter, for instance, provides a verification process meant to establish authenticity of individuals. Barrichello's profile on Twitter is verified. As the Washington Post reports, Rubens Barichello, who was looking for "respect rather than money," is going to donate the money to his charitable organization, Barichello Kanaan Foundation.
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