YouTube Sends Teens to Court

Two teenagers from Hastings were sent to the judge after a video showing them assaulting a third teen was posted on YouTube. It seems like the two attackers are brothers and were sent to the Hastings Youth Court for attacking a person in one of the city's parks. According to Newstalk ZB, the two brothers were released on bail until May 30 when the authorities plan to send them to a family group conference.

"They were charged after footage of the incident was posted on the video-sharing website YouTube. The brothers have been remanded on bail until May 30 for a family group conference. The judge ruled the name of the school the boys attended should continue," Newstalk ZB reported in an article published today.

This is not the first time when the footage uploaded on Google's YouTube sends people to court. In the past, several students were arrested or expelled after several clips showing them fighting with other pupils were posted on YouTube. The authorities managed to identify them quickly and, after the clip recorded a considerable number of views, it was finally removed by the Google employees.

However, the online video sharing service was often used with a different goal than the one presented by Google: upload clips and share them to the entire Internet world. For example, several police officers published surveillance videos on YouTube to require the users' help and identify the suspects. After an impressive number of the product's members contributed to the investigations with comments and suggestions, the authorities managed to arrest the suspects and resolve the case. So, if you intend to record yourself while you're speeding in the city, jumping on a car or assaulting a dog, try to avoid uploading the clip on YouTube as you might have serious problems with the authorities.