RELIGION

Google lawyer says free speech at stake if anti-Muslim film kept off YouTube

Associated Press
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FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2012 file photo, actress Cindy Lee Garcia speaks with the Associated Press in New York about her role in the controversial film, "Innocence of Muslims." A federal appeals court is reconsidering a decision to order YouTube to take down the anti-Muslim film that sparked violence in the Middle East and death threats to actors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena will consider arguments Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, by Google, which owns YouTube, to reverse its earlier decision. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File) (The Associated Press)

File - This Sept. 20, 2012 file photo shows Cindy Lee Garcia, right, one of the actresses in the film "Innocence of Muslims," and attorney M. Cris Armenta at a news conference before a hearing at Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles. A federal appeals court is reconsidering a decision to order YouTube to take down the anti-Muslim film that sparked violence in the Middle East and death threats to actors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena will consider arguments Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, by Google, which owns YouTube, to reverse its earlier decision. AP Photo/Jason Redmond, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2012 file photo, Palestinians protest against the movie, "Innocence of Muslims," near the United Nations office in Gaza City. The banner reads in Arabic "you are more dear than my father and mother my beloved prophet Mohammed." A federal appeals court is reconsidering a decision to order YouTube to take down an anti-Muslim film that sparked violence in the Middle East and death threats to actors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena will consider arguments Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, by Google, which owns YouTube, to reverse its earlier decision. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File) (The Associated Press)

A lawyer for Google has told a federal appeals court that free speech is in jeopardy if a ruling stands forcing it to keep an anti-Muslim film off its YouTube service.

Attorney Neal Katyal told the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena on Monday that copyright law is also at stake in a lawsuit brought by an actress who received death threats after a film trailer insulting the Prophet Muhammad sparked violence in the Middle East.

The court ordered YouTube to pull the video in February after deciding actress Cindy Lee Garcia had a copyright claim to the low-budget "Innocence of Muslims" video because she believed she was appearing in a different production than the one that appeared.

Katyal says the ruling will fragment copyright law and restrict free speech if it stands.