Milan judge Oscar Magi said in his ruling he believed Google executives bore responsibility because the company intended to make a profit by selling advertising on the site where the footage was posted.
"In simple words, it is not the writing on the wall that constitutes a crime for the owner of the wall, but its commercial exploitation can," judge Magi wrote in the 111-page document, obtained by the Associated Press.
The three employees were given six-month suspended sentences in a criminal verdict that drew swift condemnation from defenders of internet freedom.
Google said it was studying the decision, "but as we said when the verdict was announced, this conviction attacks the very principles of freedom on which the internet is built", it added.
"If these principles are swept aside, then the web as we know it will cease to exist and many of the economic, social, political and technological benefits it brings could disappear. These are important points of principle, which is why we and our employees will vigorously appeal this decision."
Judge Magi said his decision should be interpreted as a requirement that internet service providers must screen the enormous amount of video that passed through their sites.
"But on the other hand, there also is no such thing as the endless prairie of the internet where everything is allowed and nothing can be banned," he wrote.
The trial, he said, should be read as an "important signal" that a danger zone is being reached for criminal responsibility for web masters.
"There is no doubt that the overwhelming speed of technical progress will allow, sooner or later, ever more stringent controls on uploaded data on the part of website managers," he said.
Daily Express
