Google to Shut Down Some Orkut Communities

Google has agreed to comply with the Brazilian government's demands and shut down some communities on Orkut, the most popular social networking site in this country.

It seems that many Brazilians use Google's service for activities that violate the law, such as drug dealing operations, organized fights between soccer fans and promotion of violence and racism.

Invitation-based Orkut, which has approximately 8 million users in Brazil, gives its users the freedom to create communities who share the same mentalities and behaviors.

The Associated Press quoted Brazilian Rep. Luiz Eduardo Greenhalgh, a member of the congressional commission, as saying that Google had agreed to remove six Web sites from Orkut and help police identify those who posted the pages as part of a preliminary accord.

However, Google didn't confirm if they would provide the Brazilian authorities with information on the users who violate the law.

"We will review and immediately remove any communities that threaten immediate harm to individuals or otherwise violates our terms of service," a Google representative said in response to a question about the meeting.

Following the agreement between Google and the Brazilian officials, the Mountain View company will have to set up a Portuguese-speaking team to monitor the communities.