Google Inc on Friday lost its bid to keep an anti-Islamic film on its YouTube video sharing website while it appealed a federal appeals court order that the company said would have "devastating effects" if allowed to stand, the Associated Press reported.
The case is Garcia vs. Google Inc et al., 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 12-57302, according to the AP.Earlier this week, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to reject Google's assertion that the removal of the film "Innocence of Muslims," which sparked protests across the Muslim world, amounted to a prior restraint of speech that violated the U.S. Constitution.
In a court filing on Thursday, Google argued that the video should remain accessible to the public while it asks that a larger, 11-judge 9th Circuit panel review the issue, the AP reported. Google called this week's opinion "unprecedented" and "sweeping."
Google's request was rejected in the 9th Circuit on Friday in a brief order, according to the AP.Google representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
The plaintiff, Cindy Lee Garcia, had objected to the film after learning that it incorporated a clip she had made for a different movie, which had been partially dubbed and in which she appeared to be asking: "Is your Mohammed a child molester" the AP reported.
Garcia's attorney, Cris Armenta, opposed Google's request to repost the video while the appeal proceeds. The actress received death threats as a result of her appearance in the film, according to the AP.
The controversial film, billed as a film trailer, depicted the Prophet Mohammed as a fool and a sexual deviant, the AP reported. It sparked a torrent of anti-American unrest among Muslims in Egypt, Libya and other countries in 2012.
That outbreak coincided with an attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya. U.S. and other foreign embassies were also stormed in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, according to the AP.
For many Muslims, any depiction of the prophet is considered blasphemous, the AP reported.
Google had refused to remove the film from YouTube despite pressure from the White House and others, though it blocked the trailer in Egypt, Libya and certain other countries, according to the AP.
In court filings, Google argued that Garcia appeared in the film for five seconds, and that while she might have legal claims against the director, she should not win a copyright lawsuit against Google, the AP reported.
The film has now become an important part of public debate, Google argued, and should not be taken down, according to the AP.
But Garcia argued that her performance within the film was independently copyrightable and that she retained an interest in that copyright, the AP reported. The 9th Circuit panel agreed on Wednesday.
