Yahoo! faces criminal trial after Nazi memorabilia sales
- Added:
- Feb 28, 2002
Although Yahoo!'s French portal does not allow the trade of war related memorabilia, the US site has featured Nazi items being auctioned and - under French law - is illegally condoning the sale of items with racist overtones.
The news represents a blow to Yahoo!, which was told by a US court last November it did not have to comply with French laws as an American site.
However, a French criminal court disagrees with the ruling and stated it intends to put Yahoo and its former chief executive Timothy Koogle on trial for allegedly condoning war crimes.
If found guilty, Koogle could face up to five years in a French jail and a fine of nearly 28,000, along with the potential ramifications for freedom of speech and criminal jurisdiction on the internet such a ruling would bring.
Anti-Semitism and Jewish groups in France, which have been pressing for a criminal trial on the act, are backing the move. A hearing is to be held on 7 May in Paris this year when all relevant parties will be invited to discuss the charges.
Yahoo! said it could not comment as it is still an ongoing legal matter.