&nbsp

YouTube Faces Summary Judgment in Libel Case Involving Stevie Marco, the Rasta Rock Opera and Young Children

Federal Judge Rosemary Mayers Collyer Renders Opinion

PR Newswire, 
Washington D.C.
Both the Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle broke this story which affects millions of YouTube uploaders worldwide. Federal Judge Rosemary Mayers Collyer for the District of Columbia presided over an Emergency Temporary Restraining Order hearing TRO Transcript against YouTube and Google on August 1st 2014. Before transferring the case to California based on venue and choice of law provisions agreed to by the parties, Judge Collyer had harsh words for YouTube’s intentional posting of a false and defamatory public notice directed at the Rasta Rock Opera and two young children. YouTube and Google now face Summary judgment in a California Federal Court on May 1st 2015 on the libel counts in the litigation. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Google Founder Larry Page refused comment.
Read More

The facts of the case: The “Luv ya” music video was posted on the Stevie Marco YouTube channel on Valentines’ Day 2014 featuring the Rasta Rock Opera and two five year old kids. YouTube removed the video on April 18th 2014 and posted in its place a notice stating the video had been removed because its “Content” violated YouTube’s Terms of Service. The notice was distributed to thousands of people that clicked on the “Luv ya” video link expecting to see the latest release from the Rasta Rock Opera.

Instead, viewers got a defamatory statement with a link to YouTube’s Terms of Service that defined prohibited “Content” to include pornography, child exploitation, dead bodies and other despicable images. The “Luv ya” music video was rather a catchy Reggae love song that featured a live performance of the Rasta Rock Opera with two kids celebrating Valentine’s Day.

Here are passages from the opinion of United States Federal Judge Rosemary Mayers Collyer regarding the intentional false and defamatory statement posted by YouTube:

“The community guidelines; that would tell you the problem with the content is something really unattractive such as pornography, et cetera.”

“To that extent I think Plaintiff is right that YouTube’s objection that there’s something wrong with the Content is incorrect and perhaps caused damage”

“And so that misstatement, knowing misstatement, if you will -- it had to be knowing, somebody put it up – that misstatement might, in fact, be injurious”

“If another judge who has full venue and jurisdiction agrees with my analysis of the contract, then you have a defamation claim.”

Lisa Pellegrino, mother of young Nicolas Brotherton who starred in the video said this; “My son was devastated when YouTube took the “Luv ya” video down after his entire kindergarten class had watched it a few days earlier. They defamed my son with that takedown notice.”

The lawsuit also alleges in paragraphs 28 thru 30; Case # 3:14-cv-05080-SC that YouTube, Google, and the Major Record Labels have bilked advertisers out of enormous amounts of money by robotically enhancing the view counts of videos of which advertisers pay for in the YouTube “pay per click” advertising model. There is also a breach of contract claim in the litigation that affects everyone that has ever agreed to the YouTube Terms of Service. If the Rasta Rock Opera prevails in its breach of contract claim, Defendants may be exposed to a title wave of lawsuits.

Meanwhile The Rasta Rock Opera will be removing their content from YouTube and releasing their much anticipated 16 track Reggae Rock Opera “Respect and Love Manifesto” on a new music and video sharing platform known as Songfi.com that features the Independent Artist. The release date is May 1st 2015, the same day that Summary Judgment against YouTube will be decided in a U.S. District Court in San Francisco.