Australian court makes Google pay $515,000 for defamation

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian court has ordered Google to pay a former politician 715,000 Australian dollars  ($515,000) over two defamatory YouTube videos. John Barilaro, a former New South Wales state deputy premier, had sued Google and comedian Jordan Shanks, also known as friendlyjordies, in the Federal Court over the videos. Justice Steven Rares on Monday found Barilaro had been the “subject of a relentless, racist, abusive and defamatory campaign conducted on YouTube,” a platform owned by Google. Barilaro told reporters outside the Sydney court that he felt “vindicated” by the judgment. His lawyer Paul Svilans said it was the only case he was aware of where Google was sued for defamation through its YouTube operation.