A French Court ruling Wednesday requires Google to get rid of nine orgy images linking ex Formula One boss Max Mosley with five prostitutes, or pay the price. The web giant plans to appeal.
Former Formula One chief Max Mosley has got yet another ruling in his favor by a French court Wednesday. As per the orders, Google is required to get rid of nine orgy images of Mosley with five prostitutes during a "Nazi-themed" sex party from its internet search results. Failing to obey, the web giant will be slapped with 1,000 Euros ($1,300) fine, every time an image appears in the search results. In addition, the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris ordered Google to pay Mosley 1 Euro ($1.40) in damages and 5,000 Euros ($6,760) towards court expenses.
Google is planning to appeal the court's decision, saying the ruling "should worry all those who defend freedom of expression on the internet," Daphne Keller, associate general counsel at Google, said in an e-mailed statement.
The latest ruling originates from a story alleging Mosley's participation in a sex session with five prostitutes in 2008. The story was published on the front page of the News of the World newspaper. The newspaper also posted a video on its website allegedly showing Mosley's involvement in the act.
In response to the allegations, Mosley said the British news agency had breached his privacy and filed suits against the tabloid in several countries. The ex-F1 chief won $96,534 in damages for breach-of-privacy by a court in U.K. in 2008. The court's ruling favored Mosley due to lack of evidence and that there had been no Nazi theme.
In 2011, Mosley won against the tabloid in a French court, and News Corp, owner of the newspaper, was ordered to pay $48,000 in damages caused due to the circulation of the story via papers and the web.
Mosley further filed legal suits against Google in Germany and France demanding the removal of images linking him to the scandal. But at the time, Google said that it would do so on a case-by-case basis.
"I think you cannot underestimate that if someone puts a picture on the web that they shouldn't, that will go on forever unless action is taken," Mosley said at the time, reports BBC News. "As soon as a search engine finds it is available to everybody and the thing you sued over and won over is republished again and again... Clearly that can be stopped and should be stopped in my opinion."
In response, Keller said that the company's "existing removal process represents an effective way of helping Mr. Mosley."
