Google sues LATAM Airlines in US over Brazilian YouTube video dispute
June 12 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google sued Chile-based LATAM Airlines (LTM.SN), opens new tab in U.S. federal court in San Jose, California on Thursday, seeking a declaration that Brazilian courts cannot force the tech giant to take down a YouTube video in the United States that accused a LATAM employee of sexually abusing a child.
Google in the lawsuit, opens new tab said that LATAM was attempting to "make an end-run" around protections for free speech under the U.S. Constitution by suing in Brazil to force the video's removal worldwide.
Spokespeople for LATAM did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Google's allegations.
Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said in a statement that the company has "long supported the legal principle that courts in a country have jurisdiction over content available in that country, but not over what content should be available in other countries."
Right-wing social media companies Trump Media and Rumble filed a similar lawsuit in Florida in February against a Brazilian judge who had ordered them to remove the U.S.-based accounts of a leading supporter of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. A federal judge decided in the case that the companies were not required to comply with the order in the United States.
According to Google's lawsuit, U.S. citizen and Florida resident Raymond Moreira posted two YouTube videos in 2018 of his 6-year-old son outlining allegations of sexual abuse that the child said he experienced from a LATAM employee while traveling as an unaccompanied minor.
Moreira sued LATAM in Florida in 2020 over the alleged abuse, which led to a confidential settlement.
LATAM sued Google in Brazil in 2018 seeking an order to remove the video from YouTube, which Google owns. Brazil's highest court is set to consider next week whether it has the authority to order Google to take down the video worldwide.
Google asked the court in California on Thursday to declare that LATAM cannot force the tech giant to remove the video in the United States.
Canada's Supreme Court upheld an order for Google to remove some search results worldwide in a separate case in 2018. A California judge halted that order's U.S. enforcement in 2017.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Alleged child sex abuse victim of Gateway Church founder Robert Morris sues him for defamation
An Oklahoma woman who accused megachurch pastor Robert Morris of sexually assaulting her as a young girl is now seeking at least $1 million from the disgraced televangelist for, among other things, slander, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress over his public actions in the years since. In a 39-page lawsuit filed Thursday, Cindy Clemishire, who is now 55 and working as a real estate broker, says the 63-year-old Morris, his wife Deborah, their sons and numerous church elders all conspired to cover up the 'heinous' abuse she suffered at his hands. Gateway Church, which Morris founded 25 years ago in the affluent Dallas, Texas suburb of Southlake, quickly became one of the biggest congregations in the country, drawing 100,000 or more worshipers to its weekend services. 'Defendants have made millions of dollars from Gateway Church, writing and publishing books, speaking engagements, TV shows, radio shows, [and] The King's University… while preaching about sexual immorality and redemption all while concealing the true facts of Defendant Robert Morris's sexual abuse and rape of Plaintiff, whose abuse began while she was just 12 years old,' Clemishire's complaint contends. Morris, his family and Gateway Church leadership later downplayed his alleged crimes as 'nothing more than an 'inappropriate relationship,' an 'indiscretion,' 'his transgressions,' 'his moral failures' and an 'extramarital relationship,' deceiving thousands of church parishioners and the public with a false narrative that the sexual acts performed on the plaintiff as a minor child were consensual, or even worse, solicited,' Clemishire's attorneys said in a statement released after filing the suit in Dallas County District Court on behalf of her and her father, Jerry Lee Clemishire. 'Instead,' the statement goes on, 'the lawsuit makes clear that the actions 'amounted to criminal sexual contact with a child, rape and continuous sexual abuse of a child,' for which the survivor is entitled to just compensation for damages.' In an email on Thursday, church spokeswoman Bonnie Curry told The Independent, "No comment to add from Gateway.' Morris, a former spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump, first assaulted Clemishire on December 25, 1982, when he 'demanded' that Clemishire 'get into bed with him,' according to the complaint. At the time, the 22-year-old Morris was on the road as a traveling preacher, and had become friendly with Clemishire's family. The molestation continued for another five years, with Morris insisting to Clemishire that she 'can't ever tell anyone what just happened or it will ruin everything,' the complaint states. However, in 1987, it says Clemishire confided to a friend about Morris' 'wrongful and egregious actions.' Clemishire, who was then 17, then got a call from Deborah Morris, who said she 'forgave' Clemishire for what had happened, according to the complaint. This, the filing argues, 'allud[ed] that it was [Clemishire's] fault that [Morris'] husband had sexually assaulted and raped [her].' Morris would acknowledge in a 2014 sermon that he had been "sexually immoral" during his younger days, and a decade later told The Christian Post that when he was in his early 20s, he 'was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying.' 'It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong,' Morris told the publication. 'This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years.' Over the past year, Morris has continued to defame Clemishire by claiming that 'his sexual battery, assault, and rape of [her] was an 'extramarital affair,'' implying that the pre-teen had 'initiated, sought and desired a sexual relationship' with him, her complaint maintains. 'Defendant Morris and/or other Defendants spread horrendous and damaging lies that it was Plaintiff that initiated and perpetuated these illegal acts,' the complaint states. 'Further, Defendants asserted that Plaintiffs forgave Defendant Morris, which was a lie.' In June 2024, Morris stepped down from his position at Gateway Church. His son, along with several other members of the church's board of elders, were placed on temporary leaves of absence while an outside team of investigators probed the allegations against Morris. In March 2025, an Oklahoma grand jury indicted Morris on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, based on Clemishire's claims. 'After almost 43 years, the law has finally caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child,' Clemishire said in a statement after the indictment was announced. 'Now, it is time for the legal system to hold him accountable. My family and I are deeply grateful to the authorities who have worked tirelessly to make this day possible and remain hopeful that justice will ultimately prevail.' Last month, Morris filed his own lawsuit against Gateway, arguing that while his behavior may have been 'inappropriate,' the church still owes him millions of dollars in severance, deferred compensation and retirement benefits. But, while church lawyers said Morris 'was laser-focused on securing his financial future,' the accusations against him amounted to a breach of contract, liberating Gateway from any previously agreed upon obligations. For her part, Clemishire is seeking actual, presumed and exemplary damages to be determined by a jury. 'We filed this lawsuit on behalf of Ms. Clemishire because, while criminal charges continue to progress, Morris and those who conspired with him deserve to be held civilly accountable for their actions as well,' attorney S. Alex Yaffe, one of the lawyers representing Clemishire, said on Thursday. 'The lawsuit and the crimes alleged speak for themselves and we look forward to seeing justice served for the Plaintiffs in this case.'
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
US Marines have moved into Los Angeles, will protect federal building, official says
WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Marines have moved into Los Angeles and will take over protecting the Wilshire federal building in the coming hours, the head of the military's efforts in the city said on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump can keep his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles, according to a court ruling, as protests against immigration raids look set to enter their second week in the strongest backlash since his return to power in January. The Trump administration has authorized 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to be deployed to Los Angeles to help protect federal property and personnel. U.S. Army Major General Scott Sherman, who commands the task force of Marines and Guardsmen, said that about 200 Marines had moved into the city so far. He added that neither the Marines nor the National Guard troops there had temporarily detained anyone yet. "They have watched federal law enforcement arrest personnel as they were protecting, they have not had to detain anyone at this point," Sherman said. The troops are authorized to detain people who pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but only until police can arrest them. Trump could take a more far-reaching step by invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow troops to directly participate in civilian law enforcement. During the 2020 wave of nationwide protests over racial injustice, more than 17,000 National Guard troops were activated by 23 states. What is rare, however, is sending active-duty troops during times of civil disturbance. Cities across the United States were bracing for more demonstrations especially on Saturday, when those also opposed to a weekend military parade in Washington marking the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary are expected to take to the streets. The protests so far have been mostly peaceful, punctuated by incidents of violence, and restricted to a few city blocks.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Girl, 9, attacked by flesh-eating PIRANHAS while paddling in scenic lake with mum as ferocious fish gnaw through bones
A GIRL was attacked by a school of piranha fish just moments after taking a dip in a scenic lake in Brazil. Nine-year-old Yasmin Luis Vieira's foot was mutilated in the savage attack that took place before her mum's eyes. 5 5 5 Mum Janaina Luis Pereira, 31, said the horror unfolded on a day trip to a lake in the Brazilian municipality of Caldas Novas on June 8. She said the piranhas pounced on Yasmin within seconds of her feet entering the water. The fish bit off two of her middle toes on her right foot while also injuring her left foot, according to the mum. Gruesome images show victim Yasmin's wounded feet. Janaina said: "We went to the lake to have a family picnic. We went to the edge so she could put her feet in the water. "I heard her scream, 'Mummy, a piranha got my foot'. "She jumped and got out of the water. When she sat down, I saw that her toes were gone. It was terrifying. "I never imagined a piranha would do that." The mum said plenty of families, along with their children, were bathing in the lake at the time of the attack. She said: 'It's a freely accessible place. There's no fee to enter, but the signage is very poor. 5 "The area where everything happened is the same one where visitors have free access to the water. There is no isolation or protective barriers." Paramedics rushed Yasmin to hospital where she was treated for shock and a possible infection and doctors carefully stitched up her mutilated toes. Her mum said: "She was losing a lot of blood. She was taken to the Mother and Child Hospital and treated immediately." Yasmin, said to be in intense pain, will soon have to learn how to walk again. Janaina said: "The pain is constant, she screams a lot. She is sad because she keeps missing something that was ripped from her body. "As a mother, seeing this is devastating. "My emotional state is terrible. She tries to be strong, but she is going through a lot of suffering." Environmental experts are investigating the attack, according to city officials. Around 30 different species of piranha fish are believed to dwell in the lakes and rivers of South America. They are known for their razor-sharp teeth - the word 'piranha' literally translates to 'tooth fish' in Tupí, a language spoken by indigenous Brazilians. Despite their reputation as flesh-eating creatures, piranhas are omnivorous forage fish, meaning they eat most things - from meat, fish and insects to plants. Attacks on humans are rare, with the majority resulting in minor injuries, often to the feet or hands. 5
