No Liberte Online.

• Author: Rimensnyder, Sara
• Position: Yahoo! accused of violating French law - Brief Article

A recent court decision in France may presage a frustrating conflict between the borderless Internet and the French elite. On July 24, the American Web company Yahoo! testified in Paris against a Gallic court's ruling that it must block French users' access to a site where people buy and sell Nazi memorabilia. Jean-Jacques Gomez, the judge who decided the case, argues that Yahoo! disregarded French territorial boundaries by making the site accessible in France, where it is illegal to sell racist merchandise.

Gomez had ordered Yahoo! to return to court in July with evidence that they had taken steps to block French users. Instead, company cofounder Jerry Yang sent an expert witness to testify that such a barrier would be technically impossible. In interviews, Yang has been blunt: "We are not going to change the content of our sites in the United States just because someone in France is asking us to," he told the French daily Liberation. Gomez will issue his decision in mid-August.

In related news, the French government is pushing the Liberty of Communication Act...