Dear All,
As many of you know, we have closely been tracking the dispute between Equustek
and Google
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/07/11/canada-online-free-expression/>,
which began in Canada but has recently moved to the courts of the United
States. Today, we have filed an amicus brief
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_google_v_equustek_amicus_filed.pdf>
in this case, opposing global takedown orders that threaten free expression
and access to knowledge, two central pillars supporting the Wikimedia
movement.
In June 2017, the Canadian Supreme Court ordered Google to remove search
results leading to products that likely infringed Equustek’s trade secrets.
This removal order was for all searches run worldwide. We intervened
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/10/14/intervention-google-v-equustek/> in
that litigation, and earlier this summer published a blog post
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/07/20/google-v-equustek/> detailing our
concerns about the result. Google has now asked the Northern District of
California to declare <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaratory_judgment>
that enforcement of the Canadian court order would violate the First
Amendment of the United States Constitution. Initially, they are
seeking a preliminary
injunction <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preliminary_injunction>, to stop
the order from going into effect.
We filed our amicus brief to help the court understand how global takedown
orders violate US and international law, and the effect that such global
orders could have on the Wikimedia projects and communities, as well as
internet users generally.
The Canadian order encroaches upon the human right to freedom of
expression. People have the right to access and impart information through
any media, including the internet. In the United States, these fundamental
human rights are protected by the First Amendment. Internationally, they
are enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Covenant_on_Civil_and_Political_Rights>
and other such instruments.
Global takedown orders like the Canadian one in Equustek will impact access
to information on the projects, and undermine the mission of the Wikimedia
movement. The removal of search results will restrict the global public’s
right to find and access information, even on Wikipedia. Additionally, it
will make it more difficult for Wikimedia contributors to locate sources
for the knowledge they share via the projects. Enforcement of such global
orders could also lead to increased ease of global censorship, not just on
search engines like Google, but also on sites like the Wikimedia projects,
which are dedicated to providing access to information to people around the
world.
We asked the court to grant Google’s application for a preliminary
injunction, and to be mindful of these broad concerns as it consider the
issues going forward. We will keep you updated on the case.
Best,
Jan
==
Jan Gerlach
Public Policy Manager
Wikimedia Foundation
149 New Montgomery Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
jgerlach(a)wikimedia.org