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Google shares info on suspected pedophiles

Yes, Google will share account information with Brazilian authorities on suspected pedophiles.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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It wasn't immediately clear from Thursday's reports, but Google will indeed share information from its Orkut social-networking site with Brazilian authorities trying to deal with suspected pedophiles.

On Wednesday, the Brazilian Senate ordered Google to share information on 3,261 suspected pedophiles, information Google had refused to share earlier. No more.

"Google Brazil is legally obligated to comply with this order, and it is Google's policy to comply with valid judicial process," spokeswoman Sara Jew-lim said in a statement Friday.

Google already had tools in place to allow users to flag potentially illegal content, and it's now adding a filter "with the goal of blocking pornographic pictures when someone tries to upload them, so that these pictures will not be posted," she said.