Summary: A French Facebook user had his account suspended without explanation on the same day that he posted a photo of a 19th-century image of a vagina.
A French court ruled against Facebook Friday in a case against a French user’s account being suspended without warning. The court is allowing the social network to be sued in France for removing the user’s account after he posted a photo of a 19th-century nude painting. The case can be appealed at the highest court.
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The painting of Gustave Courbet in 1866 called “The Origin of the World” depicts a very life-like image of female genitalia. The Parisian teacher and art lover had his account suspended over five years ago on the same day he posted the photo. He wants his account reactivated and $22,550 in damages. Facebook never gave an explanation for why his account was suspended.
There are over 30 million Facebook users in France. The legal team for the social network giant argued that lawsuits such as this one can only be tried in California where the company’s headquarters are located and that French consumer rights laws do not apply since the service is free.
France disagrees. The appeals court cited a small clause in Facebook’s terms and conditions that require worldwide lawsuits to be heard only in Santa Clara courts to be “unfair” and excessive. They claim that any terms and conditions contract signed by users creating a Facebook account do not fall under consumer rights law in France.
On the flip side, French officials have been demanding Facebooks and other Silicon Valley tech giants remove violent extremist material, especially since the attacks in Paris last year.
Source: http://nypost.com/2016/02/12/facebook-loses-legal-battle-in-france-over-vagina-painting/
Photo: thetechgraph.com