YouTube Defends Attempts To Remove Brazilian Supermodel Sex Video

YouTube on Friday defended its attempts to remove the sex video of a Brazilian supermodel who convinced a court in her country to order the site shut down until it removes the controversial clip.

YouTube said in an email that it had removed the video of model Daniela Cicarelli and boyfriend Tato Malzoni, but that it had been uploaded again by users of the site. The video shows the ex-wife of soccer star Ronaldo and Malzoni apparently having sex in shallow water on the beach.

"The video in question was removed from YouTube because it violated our terms of use," YouTube spokesperson Jaime Schopflin said. "It was recently uploaded again and we became aware of it through media reports and users flagging the content, and we removed these copies immediately."

The couple sued YouTube several months ago seeking $116,000 in damages for each day the video remained on the site, according to Reuters news agency. Another suit was filed in December asking that the site be shutdown, until it can guarantee the video won't reappear. A Brazilian court on Wednesday agreed and ordered YouTube closed. However, it's unclear whether the ruling can be enforced, since YouTube is based in the United States.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, said it has people checking for inappropriate content 24-hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, the site offers online tools that subscribers can use to red flag content, so it can be reviewed. More than 65,000 videos are uploaded to YouTube each day.

"YouTube is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. legal system, however, we reach a global audience and strive to provide a community where people from around the world can share videos in a safe and lawful manner," Schopflin said.