Brazil tries to seize data on users of Google's Orkut

Brazilian authorities said on Friday they will seek warrants to seize information on hundreds of users on the Orkut social network, operated by search engine giant Google Inc., for suspected Internet crimes.

Sergio Suiama, a federal public prosecutor at the cyber-crimes unit of the Public Ministry, said the ministry will seek warrants to investigate Brazilian users suspected of publishing child pornography and drug trafficking on Orkut.

The request for warrants would be based on a report by the nongovernmental group Safernet, http://www.safernet.org.br, which monitors crime on the Internet, Suiama said.

Suiama met on Friday afternoon with Alexandre Hohagen, the director of Google Inc.'s local subsidiary, Google Brasil, and Safernet President Thiago Nunes de Oliveira.

Orkut's terms of service prohibit illegal activity including child pornography as well as hate speech and advocating violence, a Google spokeswoman said.

"Google Brasil was sensible and was willing to help (in the investigations), but it will seek guidance from headquarters in the United States," said Suiama.

Orkut, a social network service provided by Google, has around 14 million registered users, over 70 percent of whom say they are Brazilian.

Brazil's prosecutors are investigating child pornography, racial discrimination, drug trafficking and other crimes on the Internet.

"This is a serious problem and we will cooperate," Hohagen told Reuters, adding that his company removed "hundreds" of pages from its Orkut service that had been denounced.

The meeting between Google and Brazilian prosecutors comes as authorities around the world are taking a tougher line on online services as alleged havens for crime and sexual predators.

In the US, News Corp's MySpace.com, a social networking craze among teenagers, has become the subject of investigations by police who say adults use the site to solicit sex with minors.

posted by nscafuro @ 4:40 PM