Yahoo’s French language portal does not host auctions of such Nazi items, but French users can transfer to the U.S. English-based Yahoo! in one click.
The Internet giant had argued that its services are U.S.-governed and that Nazi material auctions cannot be banned based on U.S. constitutional rights to freedom of speech. It also claimed there was no surefire way to bar French surfers from making bids, as national identity on the Web can easily be concealed.
Gomez had ordered a three-person panel of experts from the United States, France and England to explore measures to prevent French users from gaining access to the auctions. They determined it would be impossible to do so, as at least 30 percent of French computer users surf the Internet without an identifiable French service provider.
A spokesman for Yahoo! said the decision may be appealed.
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