French Demand Google Ban Pics

A French court has ordered Google to filter images of former Formula One president Max Mosley, who was shown at an alleged Nazi-themed sex party. The court case has been going on for some and goes back to 2008 when a British tabloid published the pictures, which went viral online. The court also awarded Mosley damages of one euro.Google says it is disturbed by the decision.

 

By Mike Wheeler

A French court has ordered Google to filter images of former Formula One president Max Mosley, who was shown at an alleged Nazi-themed sex party.

The court case has been going on for some and goes back to 2008 when a British tabloid published the pictures, which went viral online. The court also awarded Mosley damages of one euro.

Google says it is disturbed by the decision. The company’s general counsel, Daphne Keller, said in a statement, “This decision should worry those who champion the cause of freedom of expression on the Internet.”

In the original decision brought against the News of the World, which has since closed due to the well-publicised phone hacking scandal, Mosley was awarded over $90,000 for breach of privacy. However, with the Internet being such an open source of information, it has been harder to stop the publication of pictures over different countries.

It is thought Mosley filed suit against Google in Germany and France due to their judicial systems’ predilection towards coming down on the side of private citizens and their right to privacy. Although Mosley won the right to get the pictures removed, the amount awarded would suggest that the judge in the case was less than impressed with Mosley’s get-up.