French Court Orders Facebook To Remove Page That Is Insulting To Bishop

Last week, BNA's Electronic Commerce & Law Reporter [subscription required] reported on a decision by a French court ordering Facebook to take down a page that the court found violated the privacy of a French bishop. It was also ordered to ensure that the page was not reposted. Facebook apparently failed to appear in the case, and had no attorney present at the hearing. In Hervé G. v. Facebook France, (TGI Paris, April 13, 2010) [full text in French from BNA, subscription required], the Paris First Instance Court also ordered Facebook France to identify the authors of the page and pay 2000 Euros in damages to Catholic Bishop Herve Giraud of Soissons. The offending page, titled "Courir nu dans une église en poursuivant l'évêque" (Running naked in a church after the bishop), was said by the court to incite hate and violence against Catholics. It included references to pedophilia. Facebook France says that the page is the responsibility of the U.S.-based Facebook.com.