Judge slams Yahoo! for Nazi content

NEWS A French Judge has placed a gagging order on Yahoo! after it sold Nazi memorabilia through an auction site accessible by French citizens. Judge Jean-Jacques Gomez accused Yahoo! of "offending the collective memory of the country" by allowing the English-language site to host the auction of Nazi and Ku-Klux Klan objects. The Judge said he wanted Yahoo! to "make it impossible to access the Nazi memorabilia site." Yahoo! must report to Judge Gomez on 24 July to confirm it has complied with the order and to explain the measures taken to prevent French citizens from participating in the sales. The lawsuit was bought against Yahoo! by the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (Licra) as it is illegal in France to exhibit or sell objects with racist overtones. At the time of the trial, Licra lawyer Stephane Lilti accused Yahoo! of being an "ally to revisionists" and claimed the company contributed to the racist propaganda. Yahoo! was ordered to pay FF10,000 (£940) in costs to Licra.