Google Seeks To Repost Anti-Islamic Film During Appeal

[Ron Burgundy]

By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc, saying a federal appeals court order directing it to remove an anti-Islamic film from its YouTube video sharing website would have "devastating effects" if allowed to stand, asked the court to put it on hold. Earlier this week, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to reject Google's assertion that the removal of the film "Innocence of Muslims," which sparked protests across the Muslim world, amounted to a prior restraint of speech that violated the U.S. Constitution. In a court filing on Thursday, Google argued that the video should remain accessible to the public while it asks that a larger, 11-judge 9th Circuit panel review the issue. Google called this week's order "unprecedented" and "sweeping." The plaintiff, Cindy Lee Garcia, had objected to the film after learning that it incorporated a clip she had made for a different movie, which had been partially dubbed and in which she appeared to be asking: "Is your Mohammed a child molester?" Garcia's attorney, Cris Armenta, opposes Google's request to repost the video while the appeal proceeds.

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