A U.S. appeals court ordered Google on Wednesday to remove from its YouTube video-sharing website an anti-Islamic film that sparked protests across the Middle East in September 2012 and death threats aimed at the actors.
The 9th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected Google’s claim that the removal of the film “Innocence of Muslims” amounted to a restraint of speech that violates the U.S. Constitution. According to reports, the lawsuit was filed by Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress who appeared in the film, against YouTube, its parent company Google, and the film’s producer, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, among others. The movie was also reported to have been partly responsible for triggering an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four diplomats, including Ambassador Chris Stephen.
“Garcia was duped into providing an artistic performance that was used in a way she never could have foreseen. Her unwitting and unwilling inclusion in ‘Innocence of Muslims’ led to serious threats against her life,” Chief Judge Alex Kozinski reportedly wrote in his opinion.
Garcia had reportedly objected to the movie after learning that it included a clip she had made for a different film. And, the partially dubbed portion showed her as asking: “Is your Mohammed a child molester?”
