Nando Times : Internet pioneer Vinton Cerf pans French ruling against Yahoo !
"Ignored was the observation that if every jurisdiction in the World insisted on some form of filtering for its particular geographic territory, the World Wide Web would stop functioning," Cerf wrote in an e-mail to Agence France-Presse.
NY Times : Ruling on Nazi Memorabilia Sparks Legal Debate
Michael Traynor, a lawyer in San Francisco who is acting as special counsel to Yahoo on some aspects of the lawsuit, said the company is weighing its legal options. He said the company could appeal to a higher court in France and challenge Judge Gomez’s assertion of jurisdiction. He also predicted that any effort by French authorities to enforce Judge Gomez’s judgment in a United States court against Yahoo’s United States assets would fail because of the First Amendment, which protects hate speech. An open question, other lawyers said, is whether French authorities could seize assets of Yahoo France to pay for possible fines levied against Yahoo Inc.
L’affaire Yahoo rebondit aux Etats-Unis
(Les infos 24.11.00)
Suite à la condamnation par la justice française du géant Yahoo, à propos de la mise aux enchères d’objets nazis sur le site américain, l’Association américaine de la technologie de l’information a vivement réagi. La décision française obligeant Yahoo à filtrer, sous trois mois, l’accès aux enchères d’objets nazis aux internautes français représente selon cet organisme des professionnels de l’Internet une tentative de contrôle de la pensée des internautes et des activités des fournisseurs d’accès aux Etats-Unis et partout dans le monde. Malgré tout, il semblerait que ce débat ai déjà commencé à porter ses fruits puisque de nombreux sites, à l’image d’Amazon ou d’eBay, commencent à réfléchir à ce problème en proposant de surveiller les adresses des expéditeurs d’objets en ligne ainsi que la possibilité de filtrer les utilisateurs d’un navigateur en langue française. Depuis la décision de la justice, l’action Yahoo a baissé de 16% mardi dernier en tombant à son plus bas niveau depuis plus de deux ans.
Forbes.com : French Ruling Bad For E-Commerce
The Internet and the Holocaust have collided - and many believe the future of e-commerce is the casualty. If the U.S. courts refuse to enforce the French judgment against Yahoo !, they will be offering a tacit acknowledgment that U.S. notions of expression trump French - even in France.
Yahoo ! en forte baisse sur le Nasdaq
(Tribune 23.11.00)
Le portail Internet recule à Wall Street en raison de mauvais résultats publicitaires. Les professionnels américains critiquent aussi le jugement du TGI de Paris.
Technology - Web worries over French site ban
(CNN.com) It is not just Yahoo ! that need to be vigilant. CNN business reporter Diana Muriel said companies like bookseller Amazon.com and online auctioneers would have to take extra care that the items they sell do not infringe French law.
The ruling will also hit companies like Website designer Bluewave, which must now advise clients of the risks associated with operating in France.
Bluewave’s chief executive officer Richard Latham told CNN that the introduction of restrictions on the Internet are a major cause of concern.
From France, Yahoo Case Resonates Around Globe
(International Herald Tribune)
Legal, technology and privacy experts said that the case, in which the California-based Web company was ordered to block French users from accessing its auctions of Nazi material, changes the nature of global regulation of the Internet, just as the ad-hoc computer network itself has changed the nature of communication and commerce. [...] The case is also controversial because it is one Western government applying its more conservative "hate speech" standards on a corporation in another Western country. Much of the previous regulation of the Internet has come out of repressive governments or developing countries.
L’humanité, Yahoo sans filtre ?
La société américaine avait déjà fait appel de la décision du 22 mai et aura à choisir entre trois options : « Soit appliquer cette technique de filtrage, une technique simple mais inefficace et à la longue, gênante parce qu’il va falloir demander à tous les internautes qui ne sont pas identifiés comme français par leur adresse IP de sortir leur passeport, une violation de leur vie privée. Soit faire appel. Soit attendre qu’un juge américain accepte de faire appliquer cette décision. » Or les avocats des associations antiracistes étaient pour le moins pessimistes quant à la possibilité d’obtenir outre-Atlantique un exequatur.
InternetNews : Some Analysts Still Comfortable with Yahoo !
This morning, Goldman Sachs stated that they remain comfortable with their estimates for Yahoo ! Goldman analysts Michael Parekh and Kevin M. Flaherty said Yahoo ! investors should take heart.
Information Technology Association of America : ITAA Criticizes French Court Ruling on Internet Fencing
“No one should confuse the horrors of the Nazi period with critical rights to free speech that this ruling impacts,” said ITAA President Harris Miller. “By seeking to control access to the Internet, the court is effectively attempting to control the thought of Internet users in France and the actions of Internet providers in the U.S. and elsewhere. This ruling sets a dangerous precedent for governments like the Chinese that are also taking moves to limit access to Internet content. The country that helped foster free speech in America through its 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen should not attempt to diminish that standard in 2000 and beyond.”
Center for Democracy and Technology : French Court Imposes Speech Restrictions Beyond Its Borders
While CDT remains concerned about overly restrictive regulation of expression online, a country’s exercise of its jurisdiction within its own borders appears to be a more reasonable starting point for dealing with varying national cultural norms about Internet content.
ZDNet - Yahoo ! : Pedophiles, no ; Nazis, yes
You have to make some tough choices when you’re an Internet portal these days. Take Yahoo !, which seems to have decided that Nazis aren’t dangerous but pedophiles are ; therefore, the company is getting after the pedophiles while defending people who want to sell swastikas where they aren’t wanted.
Freedom Forum : French judge orders Yahoo !’s Nazi auction ’zoned’ so French can’t bid
The Times of London today called the decision "the first attempt by any country to impose international censorship on the world wide web." London’s Guardian said the ruling would have "repercussions for Internet users around the world." The Times also referred to the decision as "a conflict between France’s culture of state regulation and the American tradition of free-for-all." Yahoo ! and free-speech advocates say the case could set a dangerous precedent by granting one country the right to reach across borders and impose its laws on Web sites based in other nations.
SV.COM : Dan Gillmor - Internet will find way around China censorship
The Western world might consider shedding some of its pretenses of political superiority when it behaves just like the most restrictive regimes. Case in point : a French judge’s ruling that Yahoo Inc. should censor itself when delivering content to France. You can sympathize, to a point, with the emotional goal. The Nazi memorabilia on Yahoo’s site is offensive to lots of people. But the meaning of free speech, which eludes the French court, is protecting the rights of others today in order to protect your own some day in the future.
Techweb : Yahoo, Lucent Ride Nasdaq Lower
Yahoo dived 6 15/16 to 41 15/16 after two marquee Internet analysts — Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Henry Blodget of Merrill Lynch — raised questions about the impact of a slowdown in online advertising. Meeker said there was a 30 percent chance that Yahoo would miss revenue estimates in the next three quarters. Blodget said that advertising revenue would come under even greater pressure early in 2001.
InfoWorld : Yahoo stock drops to a two-year low
The drop in Yahoo’s stock price can be partly attributed to two negative analyst reports from Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter which appeared Tuesday. In his report, Henry Blodget, a Merrill Lynch vice president for Internet/e-commerce based in New York, describes Yahoo as "currently facing the toughest challenge of its young life : the first ’harsh winter.’ "
Newsbytes : Group Blasts Yahoo Nazi Ruling As Setback For Civil Liberties
A French Court’s ruling forcing Yahoo to block access to its auction site from French Internet users sets a dangerous precedent of foreign authorities dictating US free speech rights, a Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) staffer said today. "If (US Web sites) have to follow 200 country laws then (they) would have to follow the one that allows the least (freedom of) speech," CDT Policy Analyst Ari Schwartz said today. "What if Saudi Arabia said it was concerned about people" posting pictures of women with their heads uncovered ? Schwartz asked.
mardi, novembre 21, 2000
The Guardian : Ban on Yahoo ! Nazi site
In a decision that could have repercussions for internet users around the world, a Paris judge yesterday ordered the US web giant Yahoo ! to bar French surfers from a US site selling Nazi memorabilia.
Financial Times : French court rules against Yahoo !
Industry groups said they were “deeply concerned” about the implications of the ruling. Businesses are lobbying regulators to try to limit the number of different national courts and laws that can claim jurisdiction over websites based in other countries. Nigel Hickson, head of the e-business unit at the Confederation of British Industry, said : “Despite the obnoxious nature of the [Nazi]
material, this ruling sets a very bad precedent for the future development of services on the internet”.
AFP : Filtrage des internautes : entre verrouillage et responsabilisation
La batterie de solutions proposée par la justice française à Yahoo Inc pour empêcher les Français d’avoir accès à ses sites d’enchères d’objets nazis est un savant cocktail de mesures techniques, de mots-clés choisis et d’appels à la bonne volonté de l’internaute.
Reuters : Yahoo Stock Falls for Second Straight Day
Shares of Internet portal Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O) fell to their lowest level in two years on Tuesday, a day after a French judge ordered the Internet giant to bar French users from sites selling Nazi memorabilia. Yahoo fell steadily in early trade and was down $5-3/8, or 10 percent, at $43-1/2 on volume of 3.8 million shares — the lowest level for the stock since November 1998.
ZDNet : News : eBay, Amazon avoid French knot
That eBay and Amazon have found ways to do business in France may offer some hope that Yahoo ! will be able to resolve its ongoing fight with French authorities. On Monday, a French judge imposed a 90-day deadline for Yahoo ! to implement a way to prevent sales of Nazi material in France.
Redherring.com - Yahoo encounters French resistance- November 21, 2000
"There is no global case law in this area," says John Bates, dean of the London Business School. "Everyone will watch extremely closely what happens, and I expect to see (similar court rulings) replicated in several other jurisdictions as well. Local laws still exist."
TheStandard.com : Yahoo Told to Block Nazi Goods From French
Yahoo said it is currently reviewing the decision and will decide how to proceed in the coming weeks. The company can appeal the decision in French courts and may end up fighting the battle in U.S. courts, as well, said Jackson. "Given the free-speech implications, there are strong questions whether a U.S. court would agree to the decision," she said.
Upside : Executive Briefing
The French may have chalked up a win in Monday’s court battle against American Internet giant Yahoo (YHOO) but they haven’t won the war. While noncompliance could rack up a hefty fine for Yahoo, "to actually collect the money they will have to go through a U.S. court process," says Greg Wrenn, a member of Yahoo’s international legal counsel.
SV.Com : Yahoo disputes French judge’s ruling (11/20/2000)
But at the Santa Clara headquarters, Greg Wrenn, associate counsel for Yahoo’s international operations, said there are appeals processes available in the French court system that it may tap. ``We haven’t made any final decisions about what to do. We’re trying to be sensitive to everything at stake here. One option is to continue through appeals in France.’’
AFP : Yahoo-France : le juge a tranché d’une "manière intéressante", selon Paris
La justice française a tranché "de manière intéressante" une question qui se pose au niveau international, en obligeant Yahoo Inc. à rendre impossible l’accès pour les Français à un site d’objets nazis, a estimé mardi le ministère français des affaires étrangères. "On voit que le juge a tranché de cette manière là, qui est une manière intéressante, un problème qui se pose au niveau international et sur lequel nous travaillons au niveau international", a déclaré mardi le porte-parole du ministère, François Rivasseau.
AFP : Filtrage des internautes français par Yahoo : une mesure avant tout symbolique
La décision de la justice française d’obliger le site américain de Yahoo à filtrer les internautes français en les empêchant d’accéder aux sites de vente d’objets nazis, apparaît comme un avertissement fort au monde de l’internet, mais un avertissement sans frais.
New York Times : French Uphold Ruling Against Yahoo on Nazi Sites
Upholding a verdict that has unsettled the Internet industry in France for the last seven months, a court here ruled today that Yahoo ! must prevent World Wide Web users in France from visiting its auction sites that sell Nazi memorabilia, or face heavy fines for each day that it did not comply.
Yahoo : La France veut une liberté d’expression encadrée
Les autorités françaises, interrogées au lendemain de la condamnation de Yahoo souhaitent qu’un équilibre soit respecté entre liberté d’expression et respect de certaines valeurs. "Nous voulons que la liberté d’expression soit garantie partout, y compris sur Internet, mais qu’elle se concilie avec les autres libertés d’expression", a déclaré mardi François Rivasseau, porte-parole du Quai d’Orsay.
Affaire Yahoo : comment eBay et Amazon ont pris les devants
(ZDnet 22.11.00)
Amazon, échaudé par les attaques subies lorsqu’il vendait "Mein Kampf" en ligne, ou eBay, prudent, ont réussi à éviter les foudres de la justice française. Question de méthode.
La justice oblige Yahoo Inc à filtrer les internautes français
(JDN 21.11.00)
http://www.journaldunet.com/0011/001121yahoo.shtml
Une justice mondiale pour l’Internet ? Parlez-en sur le Forum
Procès : Yahoo ! va devoir filtrer ses visiteurs français
(Webfaster 22.11.00)
Nous attendons vos commentaires.
Court to Yahoo : Use Nazi Filter
(Wired 20.11.00)
A French court tells Yahoo in a landmark ruling it has to prevent French Internet users from accessing sites that sell Nazi paraphernalia.
Affaire Yahoo ! : le juge tient bon et la firme américaine aussi
(Transfert 21.11.00)
Le juge Gomez a condamné le site américain à mettre en place les filtres recommandés par les experts. Yahoo ! a trois mois pour obtempérer.
Enchères d’objets nazis : Yahoo Inc a 3 mois pour agir
Le juge Gomez a ordonné le 20 novembre au portail américain de bloquer l’accès des internautes français à ses pages litigieuses. Une décision difficile à appliquer techniquement et juridiquement.
Procès Yahoo : les réactions
Satisfaction d’un côté, prudence et déception de l’autre. Propos recueillis à la sortie du tribunal.
Comment forcer Yahoo Inc. à filtrer l’accès à son site
Il faudra l’aval d’un juge américain pour rendre applicable aux États-Unis la décision française de fermer une partie du site de Yahoo Inc. aux internautes français.
La justice contraint Yahoo ! à filtrer les internautes français
(Tribune 21.11.00)
Le portail devra les empêcher d’accéder aux sites américains de vente aux enchères d’objets nazis.
Does France Yahoo ? Non !
(Redheering 21.11.00)
