Yahoo drops Nazis, adds auction fees

Yahoo will throw Nazi paraphenalia and other hate-related material off its US auction site, under pressure from users.

Users are understood to have complained to Yahoo about the material following a seven-month legal battle where Yahoo failed to persuade a French court that it was technically impossible to stop French citizens from viewing Nazi paraphenalia on its US auction pages. This material is banned from Yahoo sites in other countries.

While the change, which takes effect on 10 January, does not meet the court's requirements, in practice it ensures the portal complies with the aim of preventing French citizens from being able to access such material.

Yahoo said it would continue with a lawsuit filed in the US after the French ruling, arguing that the French court cannot enforce its decision on a US-based company outside of France. Selling Nazi material is not illegal in the US, but is in France.

However, perhaps tired of seeing its name associated with Nazis, the portal has now said it "will no longer allow items that are associated with groups which promote or glorify hatred and violence, to be listed on any of Yahoo's commercial properties... prohibited listings include items such as Nazi and Klu Klux Klan memorabilia."

A Yahoo spokeswoman said users had also complained about such material, and added that the change reflected the company's desire to "improve the general quality of our commerce properties" now the commerce sites are profitable.

Yahoo said it would ensure its US servers stayed hate-free after that date through an internally-developed technology and through human site moderators.

Additionally, the portal also said it would introduce a listing fee of between $0.20 to $2.25 depending on the value of the goods sold but would not charge a closing fee or take a percentage of the final sale.

Rival auction websites eBay and Amazon already charge listing fees, which had allowed Yahoo's pages to gain ground on the better-established pair. Yahoo insisted it would still be price competitive despite the new fees.

Brain Fitzgerald, senior producer at Yahoo, said: "We are not taking a commission and the fee is minimal. We are increasing the quality of listings while remaining price competitive and providing sellers with a better margin."