Judge: Yahoo not bound by French Nazi ban By Reuters November 7, 2001, 8:45 p.m. PT A U.S. federal judge ruled Wednesday that Yahoo was not bound to comply with French laws governing Internet content, a decision which could have broad implications for international free speech rights in the Internet age. U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel, weighing in on an international dispute over Yahoo auctions featuring Nazi memorabilia, said French court orders barring such auctions on U.S.-based Web sites would not be enforced. "We are extremely happy about this," said Mary Catherine Worth, senior corporate counsel, International, for Yahoo. "This has very broad implications for everyone, not only companies but also for individuals who operate Web pages here in the United States," Worth said. "Judge Fogel's ruling holds that if you have a U.S.-based Web site, you are subject to U.S. law and you are protected by the First Amendment. Foreign court orders will not be enforced." The case, seen as a key test of the evolving rules governing national jurisdiction, free speech and online commerce, has led to repeated court hearings both in France and in the United States. France had sought to bar Yahoo's auctions of Nazi items under broad French anti-hate speech laws, threatening the U.S.-based site with fines of as much as $13,000 per day unless it blocked French citizens' access to the items. Yahoo protested, saying it ran a French auction site that abides by local laws but could not effectively block people in France from going to other country-specific sites to access the objectionable material. The French court disagreed, pointing to technical experts who argued that IP-address tracking could spot more than 60 percent of French Internet surfers. Yahoo ultimately agreed to yank the Nazi items from its worldwide auction system, a move that was followed by online auction site operator eBay. But Yahoo also asked Fogel to consider whether French laws could be enforced in the United States, noting that the list of items and content that could be found potentially offensive in different countries was huge. Fogel, in his decision reached Wednesday, apparently agreed, extending U.S. guarantees of free speech rights to Internet sites seen across the world. "Today the judge basically he said it was not consistent with the laws of the United States for another nation to regulate speech for a U.S. resident within the United States," Worth said. Story Copyright � 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
