In a surprising update on Google protecting user information, in Brazil the search giant apparently has refused to divulge details of pedophiliac Orkut users to authorities.

An Associated Press article informs that Brazilian prosecutors say Google has not provided Orkut user information regarding crimes.

"Prosecutor Sergio Gardenghi Suiama said that while Google has eliminated the users from Orkut groups, the company still refuses to release their information so that Brazilian authorities can pursue them.

"In some cases Google has not even preserved the evidence we need to file charges against the pedophiles that use the Internet to spread their ideas," Suiama said. Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. have provided user information in similar cases, Suiama told a news conference.

"Google's attitude is ensuring the impunity of pedophiles and perpetrators of hate crimes and shows they are only motivated by profits and are ignoring their social responsibility to Brazilian laws and society," he said."

Further, the news report adds that if the "federal judge handling the case determines that Google's Brazilian subsidiary must turn over the information, Google will have to comply or face daily fines and even the closure of the company's Brazilian operations."

"Suiama said Google claims it is bound by U.S. laws that guarantee the freedom of speech, "which is why they have not given us the information we need to go after these who use the Internet to spread racial hatred and neo-Nazi propaganda."

He said "Google's subsidiary should be bound by the laws of Brazil, where spreading any kind of hate is a crime."

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