Yahoo Wins Reprieve in Nazi Sales Case

French prosecutor wants to weigh alternatives to halting online sale of Nazi memorabilia.

Sarah Deveaux, IDG News Service

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The U.S. portal still allows French customers to access auction pages, but it may face financial penalties if it doesn't stop doing so. The promotion of racial hatred is illegal in France. A decision in the Yahoo case from France's highest criminal court, the Tribunal de Grande Instance, is expected on August 11.

On May 22, the court in Paris ordered Yahoo to make it impossible for Internet users in France to access online auction pages offering Nazi memorabilia for sale through the company's Web site because doing so violates French law.

Such material was already inaccessible to users of the company's French-language site, but the court wanted to prevent French users from accessing the U.S. site.

Yahoo called in Internet security expert Edelweb S.A. to explore possible alternatives to completely halting access, and French prosecutor Bernard Fos also petitioned for more time to explore options, the AFP report said.

The court case was brought by LICRA, which is the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, and by UEJF, the French Union of Jewish Students.

Peter Sayer in Paris contributed to this report.

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