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The person uploading videos to YouTube is responsible for getting the consent of the people in them—not the company hosting the videos. Google repeatedly made that point in Italy this week as part of its closing arguments in a case over privacy, triggered by a controversial video of some Italian teenagers bullying a handicapped boy. Depending on which way the Italian court sways, the final decision could affect how online video services are run or served in Italy.

The story started in 2006 with a group of bored high schoolers who had a video-capable cell phone. The teens decided to harass another youth with Down Syndrome, both verbally and by hitting him on the head with a box of tissues. They recorded video of the abuse and then put the video online using Google Video Italia.

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