Yahoo ordered to block Nazi material

Yahoo has been ordered to block French internet users from accessing certain auction pages on its US website within three months or face heavy fines.

Judge Jean-Jacques Gomez rejected claims by Yahoo that it was technically unable to block French visitors to the US site and was therefore unable to comply with the request, first ordered in May.

Yahoo has been given three months to block access to auctions containing Nazi paraphernalia on the Yahoo US site, or face a fine of 15,000 euros per day. Yahoo has already blocked access to this type of content on its French site.

Gomez, acting on complaints from French anti-racist and Jewish groups, said Yahoo had to respect French laws prohibiting the exhibit or sale of objects that incite racial hatred.

Earlier this month Judge Gomez heard expert evidence that it was technically possible to detect the 70 per cent of French surfers who currently use an identifiable ISP in France, but not all French surfers from visiting the offending pages.

The ruling could set a precedent on international jurisdiction, an issue which Yahoo previously said "should be discussed and addressed by representatives of governments and the internet industry around the world".

A Yahoo spokeswoman said the portal was waiting to read the full text of the verdict before commenting.

Yahoo's fine is less than some had expected. One of the opposing groups, The International League Against Racism, had previously called upon Judge Gomez to fine the portal up to 200,000 euros for every day it allows access to the banned material.