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Reason
Reason
Politics
Matthew Hughes

Australia Offers a Terrifying Vision of an Internet Without Section 230

The former deputy premier of New South Wales, John Barilaro, won an unlikely battle against Google earlier this month. The High Court of Australia ruled that Google had defamed the now-retired politician by failing to remove videos published by the wildly popular YouTube journalist and commentator FriendlyJordies, whose real name is Jordan Shanks-Markovina.

Barilaro's victory attracted worldwide media coverage, not least because of the unprecedented damages awarded: Google was ordered to pay AU$715,000 (roughly $500,000 in U.S. money) and referred for a potential contempt prosecution. Ruling for the plaintiff, Justice Steven Rares accused Google of assisting Shanks-Markovina in the "vitriolic, obsessional, hate filled cyberbullying and harassment of Mr Barilaro."

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