Facebook will have to face a censorship lawsuit over a 19th century oil painting of a woman's genitalia, a Paris appeals court ruled on Friday.
The ruling favored a French teacher whose Facebook account was suspended when he posted an image (NSFW) of a famous Gustave Courbet painting called L’Origine du monde. The portrait depicts a woman naked from the waist down at a graphic angle, and it hangs in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
The teacher claimed that Facebook censored him, and he is asking for €20,000 (or about $22,500) in damages. Facebook countered that the man’s lawsuit was invalid because Facebook's Terms of Service stipulate (section 15) that all users must resolve disputes with the social network, "in the US District Court for the Northern District of California or a state court located in San Mateo County.”
The Terms of Service add, "The laws of the State of California will govern this Statement, as well as any claim that might arise between you and us, without regard to conflict of law provisions.”
In March 2015, the Superior Court in Paris agreed with the teacher, saying he had a right to sue under French law, and Facebook took its loss to an appeals court. The appeals court agreed that Facebook’s Terms of Service were “abusive” and "violated French consumer law by making it difficult for people in France to sue,” according to the BBC.
According to Le Monde, the teacher’s lawyer, Stéphane Cottineau, said, “This action will set a precedent and force Facebook and all the other foreign e-commerce companies who use this type of clause to modify their Terms of Service.”
The lawsuit paves the way for other French citizens to sue Facebook on their own turf.
Facebook has strict rules about nudity and employs human moderators to judge whether a reported post should be taken down. The site's moderation has caused intense controversy in the past, and it only just made an exception in 2014 for images depicting women breastfeeding.
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