YouTube and Google win lawsuit in free speech battle over anti-Muslim film

YouTube should not have been forced to take down an anti-Muslim film that sparked violence in the Middle East and death threats to actors, a federal appeals court ruled Monday in a victory for free speech advocates.

The ninth US circuit court of appeal sided with Google, which owns YouTube, after free speech advocates urged the court to overturn a 2-1 decision by three of its judges. The three judges had ordered YouTube to take down the video.

Actress Cindy Lee Garcia wanted Innocence of Muslims removed from the site after receiving death threats. Her lawyer argued she had a copyright claim to the low-budget film because she believed she was acting in a different production.

Google argued Garcia had no claim to the film because the film-maker wrote the dialogue, managed the production and dubbed over her lines.

It wasn’t immediately clear if or when the video would be reposted on YouTube. A Google spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The film inspired rioting by those who considered it blasphemous to the prophet Muhammad, and President Barack Obama and other world leaders asked Google to take it down.

Google, which said those requests amounted to censorship, was joined by an unusual alliance of filmmakers, other internet companies and prominent news media organizations that didn’t want the court to alter copyright law or infringe on first amendment rights.

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