An Italian court has convicted three current and former Google executives of violating privacy laws in a case the company calls a serious threat to freedom on the web.

The case involves a video posted to Google Video in 2006 showing teenage bullies in Turin abusing a disabled boy. The judge said the three executives violated privacy laws because Google did not remove the video quickly enough.

Judge Oscar Magi, left, flanked by an unidentified aide, speaks in a courtroom in Milan, Italy, on Wednesday. (APTN/Associated Press)

Judge Oscar Magi on Wednesday absolved the three of defamation but gave them a suspended six-month sentence for violating the youth's privacy. He acquitted a fourth defendant altogether.

Google said it would "vigorously" appeal the decision.

"The judge has decided I'm primarily responsible for the actions of some teenagers who uploaded a reprehensible video to Google Video," Google's global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer, who was convicted in absentia, said in a statement.

Google senior vice-president David Drummond is among those convicted by an Italian judge of privacy violations in allowing a video of a disabled boy being abused to be posted online. (Google)

The other two Google executives convicted were senior vice-president and chief legal officer David Drummond, and retired chief financial officer George Reyes.

In a post on the official Google blog, Matt Sucherman, the company's vice-president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, called the decision "astonishing," and a "serious threat to the web in Italy."

"We are deeply troubled by this conviction for another equally important reason. It attacks the very principles of freedom on which the internet is built," Sucherman wrote.

Sucherman argued that content on the web is the responsibility of the person who uploads it, and services like Google's YouTube and Blogger shouldn't have to vet every piece of uploaded content.

"These are important points of principle, which is why we and our employees will vigorously appeal this decision," Sucherman wrote.

Italian prosecutors said the case wasn't about censorship, but about balancing the rights of the individual against freedom of expression on the internet.

Prosecutor Alfredo Robledo said Google will now have to consider more diligent monitoring of uploaded videos.

Vivi Down, an Italian advocacy group for people with Down Syndrome, alerted prosecutors to the video, posted to Google Video in 2006. It showed teenage bullies beating and insulting a disabled student at a Turin school.

One of the students makes a mock phone call to Vivi Down in the video. It's not clear what disability the boy has, but The Associated Press and New York Times said he is autistic.

Google Italy, based in Milan, took the video down, although the company and prosecutors disagree on how long that took.

Google co-operated with police to identify the bullies in the video. The four were sentenced to community service in a juvenile court.

The decision comes during a major debate in Italy over the need to regulate and impose restrictions on hate pages on social networking websites.

Debate swirled after websites promoting violence against Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi were created. A separate case involves a group created on an Italian Facebook page — forced to shut down last week — that suggested children with Down syndrome should be used for target practice.

With files from The Associated Press