Re: <nettime> Yahoo, the regulator

[Ana Viseu <aviseu@oise.utoronto.ca>]

[Here is an article from ZDNet on the topic of Yahoo! vs. French state, I
think it complements Geert's post on Yahoo! as a regulator. Ana]


http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/zd/20001122/tc/yahoo_pedophiles_no_nazis_yes_1.html

By David Coursey;ZDNet News; 2000, November 22;

Why does Yahoo! think it's above French law?

You have to make some tough choices when you're an Internet portal these
days.

Take Yahoo!, which seems to have decided that Nazis aren't dangerous but
pedophiles are; therefore, the company is getting after the pedophiles
while defending people who want to sell swastikas where they aren't
wanted.

The stories describing this weird state of affairs are right here and here
on ZDNet News. I found one a little above the other on the home page
yesterday and couldn't resist the rich irony they present.

In the first story, Yahoo! UK installs a moderator to chase pedophiles out
of chat rooms. In the other, Yahoo! bemoans the French government's steps
against its auctions of Nazi regalia -- even on the American Yahoo! site.

It's hard to oppose chasing predators off the chat rooms. It's not like
they won't go someplace else, but anything that makes it a little more
difficult for sick people to prey on children is fine by me.

It's easy for me to side with the French on the Nazi issue. If Yahoo!  
thinks it's too good to play by French rules, then French ISPs should
filter all of Yahoo! out and their French site shut down -- forcibly, if
need be.

Rule of law

No, it doesn't bother me that this means erecting a border on the
Internet.  I am all for the Internet losing out to the sovereignty of
nations. That is, I believe, the only way the Internet will develop its
full potential -- by respecting local laws where its users live.

Yahoo! wants to have it both ways. It wants a global Internet, but it
doesn't want to deal with the conflicts that causes. Sure, Yahoo! France
doesn't sell Nazi material in its auctions. But Yahoo.com, the American
site, hardly stops at our borders. And if the French find it offensive,
that's Yahoo!'s problem.

After all, who is Yahoo! to tell the French they don't have the right to
decide what's best for them and take steps to enforce their laws?

The French are, for reasons easy to understand, sensitive about all things
Nazi.

As are the Germans, whose fear of a repeat of the 1930s and 40s has led
them into a fight with a software company run by a member of the Church of
Scientology.

As I supported Germany's right to enforce its laws, I likewise side with
the French.

Yahoo! seems to be arguing on principle. At least I hope it isn't because
the company is too lazy or stupid to fix its software to make the French
happy. Amazon and eBay don't have trouble with the French because they've
taken what seem like reasonable steps to comply with French law. Like the
wise man said, "It's only software."

The French are right, and Yahoo! is wrong. And that should have been the
end of the story a long time ago. But today it looks like we can expect a
protracted court fight, perhaps ending up before American judges as well
and European ones.

I'd like to see your comments on where the Internet stops and local laws
-- and taxes -- should begin.



-------------------------------------
Tudo vale a pena se a alma nao e pequena.
http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~aviseu



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