STOP INTERNET ACCESS TO NEGATIONIST SITE, FRENCH COURT

In a former court decision, the judges told the plaintiffs to sue the hosts before turning to the Internet access providers.

Three companies were identified as hosts of the incriminated website. Two of them, OLM and Globat, decided to terminate the contract with Aaargh but the third one, ThePlanet.com, a company incorporated in the US refused to do so. The French Court ordered ThePlanet.com to "prevent any access to the Internet site from the French territory". The Court also demanded elements to identify the owners and operators of the website.

The plaintiffs and the Internet access providers are due to meet in court again on May, 30.

Aaargh's website provides free access to over two hundred anti-Semitic and Holocaust denying books and brochures, an offence according to French law.

In a related issue, the French anti-racist organization MRAP deplored the decision of the Paris Court of Appeals declaring Timothy Koogle "not guilty" of incitement to racial hatred. While Koogle was CEO of Yahoo, Nazi paraphernalia could be bought online through this search engine, an offence according to French law. The Paris Court said Koogle was the creator of Yahoo and not the owner of the site selling the illegal material. Hence, he could not be held responsible for the material sold on this particular site.



Not so, argued MRAP. Koogle should be held responsible, since Yahoo created a dedicated directory path on its servers called "White Pride".