In 2011, Facebook suspended the account of a French teacher, Frederic Durand-Baissas, who posted a link on Facebook with a picture of a famous Gustave Courbet painting featuring a nude woman.
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The Paris appeal court has upheld a ruling that Facebook can be sued under French – not Californian – law.
A 57-year-old Parisian art lover and teacher posted an image of the painting to Facebook about five years ago, which prompted Facebook to drop his account without giving him notice, the Associated Press reported. The teacher, Frédéric Durand-Baissas, is seeking 20,000 euros (nearly $22,500) in damages, and reportedly wants his account reinstated.
Facebook said French courts were not competent to handle the case and that the contract with the user was “not a consumer contract because Facebook’s service was free”. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
Facebook, based in Palo Alto, California, had appealed against a Paris High Court’s authority to hear the case but the appeal court said Facebook’s claim was inadmissible.
The appeal court said the small clause included in Facebook’s terms and conditions requiring any worldwide lawsuits to be heard by the Santa Clara court was unfair and excessive.
Additionally this ruling addressed the fact that agreement to the lengthy terms and conditions required to set up a Facebook account (and the fact that Facebook is free to users) does not exempt the company from local consumer rights laws.
Durand-Baissas’ lawyer, Stephane Cottineau, told the wire agency that the ruling sends a message to all “web giants that they will have now to answer for their possible faults in French courts”.
‘On one hand, Facebook shows a total permissiveness regarding violence and ideas conveyed on the social network. The social network wanted the case to be moved stateside, but a French court said it will hear cases regarding French citizens, The Guardian reports. And on the other hand, (it) shows an extreme prudishness regarding the body and nudity, ‘ he said.
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The Facebook community standards say “we restrict the display of nudity because some audiences within our global community may be sensitive to this type of content – particularly due to their cultural background or age”.
