"A French judge ruled Monday that Yahoo! Inc. had broken French law and committed “an offense to the collective memory” of the country by conducting an online auction selling neo-Nazi objects in cyberspace.
Judge Jean-Jaques Gomez ordered the California-based Internet portal to pay $1,390 each to the Union of Jewish Students and an anti-racism group. He also gave Yahoo two months to find a way to make the site inaccessible to France-based Internet users. Both sides were told to return to court July 24. "
This decision sets a precedent that France (or any country) can make decisions based “upon English content of an American site, run by an American company … for the sole reason that French users have access via the Internet”
This does not bode well for the internet community. Now, for every item for sale, do sites have to have lawyers go through every law in every country regarding what objects may be sold? This is a very troubling precedent.
The Yahoo! guys are idiots if they actually return to a French court on July 24th. They could be found in contempt of court and thrown in jail. At least if they stay here in the U.S., the worst France can do is piss and moan that they ought to be extridited.
Screw 'em (the French, that is, not Yahoo! – they’ve already been screwed). If they can’t figure out how to screen out stuff the don’t like, tough shit. Reminds me of people who whine that x-rated material is available on the Internet. Yeah, so? If you don’t like it, don’t go there. Don’t penalize others for your problems.
(Somehow, I doubt there will be much “debate” on this one, but you never know. )
Vous pauvres personnes stupides idiotes. Vous devez comprendre que
les Français sont vos supérieurs dans toutes les choses. Vous devez
cintrer vers le bas avant toutes nos demandes. Votre arrogance
américaine est épouvantable! Comment défi nous offensez-vous?
Dammit, notre ligne de Maginot était impénétrable. Pourquoi
insistez-vous pour nous rappeler que quand cela quand il vraiment a
importé nous a roulé plus de pour les Allemands plus rapidement qu’un
whore des deux dollars?
I know a little French, enough to figure out Scylla ain’t exactly pleased with the American response to the French courts. But I am on boat with the “screw em” mentality. I mean I am in no way in support of anything neo-Nazi, but I believe if some idiot wants to express their bogoted beliefs, they have the freedom to do so (not like the French are exactly shy about it themselves. Not known as champions of the global community are the French. Just ask the Algerians or the Vietnamese). But I digress. Lets say I want to buy a Confederate flag (I don’t) am I gonna get sued for this? The French ruling is a clear violation of a right to free speech (perhaps the French aren’t big on that) and should be duly ignored.
This is news to you? France considers itself centre of the universe. When somewhere like Saudi Arabia finds against a French website for inappropriate content (99.9% of the web), the French will shrug it off without seeing a hint of hypocricy.
A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Perhaps the reference to the impenetrable Maginot line might serve as a better clue to Scylla’s true attitude.
Je vais supposer que vous étiez sarcastique. Si oui, il amusait très!
Sinon…
Léchez mon sac!
Yer pal, Satan
I ONT ÉTÉ SMOKE-free POUR:
Un mois, deux semaines, 14 heures, 21 minutes et 39 secondes.
cigarettes 1783 non fumées, sauvegardant $222,99.
La vie a économisé: 6 jours, 4 heures, 35 minutes.
Well, no, it isn’t really news to me. France has to be the most pretentious country in the world. I’m just curious as to how that French judge thinks he’s going to be able to enforce his ruling if Yahoo violates it.
The French courts have been having some trouble dealing with the global aspect of the internet. IIRC there was something a while back about travel agencies offering tours in France having to have their webpages in French as well as English.I don’t recall how that worked out either.
Why do I have a mental image of Inspector Clouseau standing in the waiting room at Yahoo ready to slap the cuffs on someone and take him back to France?
Interesting. So in France their “collective memory” has the right to not be offended? I’ve never heard of abstract concepts having rights before. Leave it to the French to raise being offended to an art form. Yahoo should prosecute the French government for trying to extort money from it.
And a clue to the French: If your collective memory can be so easily offended, I suggest that you disconnect the Internet from your country entirely. Morons.
If I were Yahoo my reply would be "Bite me." I know of no US law that permits foreign nations from suing US companies. UNless of course those US companies have businesses in those foreign nations. Perhaps there is a Yahoo: France.
I actually like the French. (Ouch, stop throwing things at me, let me explain…)
I’ve travelled a bit in France and had the chance to get to know some Frenchmen quite well (harvesting grapes in Beaujolais). I like the attitude towards life, the discussions, the meals, the hospitality, the love of the arts. Yep, the French are OK in my book.
But whenever they pick officials or governments, they seem to manage to find themselves some world-class assholes - and I haven’t got a clue as to why. Anyone got any WAGs on this ?
(OK, I could start GQ thread: “Why do the French elect assholes ?”, but people might think I was trolling)
And the court decision is ridiculous. What are they going to do to enforce it ? Is it just me, or did they just pin a big “kick me” sign on their own backsides ?
I believe Yahoo does have offices and assets in France. While I may not share the values that inspire this judgment I think we should recognize the jurisdiction of the court. In this thread I think I see much more Americans trying to impose their values on the French than the other way around.
Let’s turn the tables and discuss the Helms-Burton law which attempts to legislate things that happen outside the USA. Is that acceptable?
Does anybody think that if any other country than the USA passed such a law the USA would accept it?
)
