Yahoo Seeks to Block Order on Nazi Items

Raising questions about who controls the Internet, Yahoo Inc. is asking a federal judge to block a French court’s order that it keep computer users in France from accessing online auctions of Nazi paraphernalia.

In papers filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose on Thursday, attorneys for Santa Clara, Calif.-based Yahoo said the French court violated the company’s free-speech rights and does not have jurisdiction over content produced by an American business.

Yahoo asked the U.S. court to reassure the Internet industry that such orders are unenforceable.

Swastika-emblazoned flags and other Nazi collectibles are among the thousands of items for sale at Auctions.yahoo.com. A user in Washington state offered an “Ultra Rare Nazi Banner--Must See!!” for $600 on Friday.

In April, two French groups--the Union of Jewish Students and the International Anti-Racism and Anti-Semitism League--sued Yahoo for allegedly breaking French law barring the display or sale of racist material.

Last month, Judge Jean-Jacques Gomez gave Yahoo three months to find a way to prevent French users from accessing auction pages with Nazi-related objects, and said Yahoo would be fined $13,000 for each day after the deadline that it did not comply.

Yahoo attorney Gregg Wrenn said at the time that Yahoo would ignore the ruling and refuse to pay the fines unless a U.S. court enforced it. The company contended that blocking all French users would be technically impossible.