The internet portal Yahoo! maintains that it is technically
impossible to exclude French users from web sites auctioning Nazi
memorabilia, even though these activities constitute a breach of
French anti-racism laws. Yahoo! may be fined over £100,000 per day
if it fails to comply with the court order.
The case against Yahoo! was brought by the Union of Jewish
Students and the International League Against Racism on the grounds
that it is illegal in France to sell or display anything that
incites racism.
In May, the French court ruled that Yahoo! should pay the two
anti-racism groups $1,000 each and ordered it to block French users
from all sites offering Nazi memorabilia.
Yahoo! has not complied with this ruling, although it is
reported to have exhibited content warnings on certain web pages
indicating that by viewing the pages, French users may be in breach
of French law.
A three-hour hearing was held on the matter yesterday and the
French High Court is expected to deliver its judgement on 11th
August. The court will need to assess whether it is feasible to
order Yahoo! to completely remove the offending web sites given
that the offences charged are peculiar to French law.
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