FC: Italian court says it has authority to close foreign web sites

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=151018

Italy: Foreign 'Net sites can be closed 
Wednesday, 10 January 2001 13:17 (ET)


 ROME, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A landmark case of defamation over the Internet led
to an Italian court Wednesday to rule that foreign-based Internet sites that
contravene Italian law can be shut down, the ANSA news agency reported.

 It was not immediately clear, however, how such an order could be
implemented or enforced.

 The ruling came in an appeal in the Court of Cassation by a Jewish man --
identified only as Moshe D. -- who said he had been defamed by a number of
Web sites that claimed he had kidnapped his two daughters, was holding them
in the city of Genoa and was raising them in defiance of Jewish law.

[...]

 Both the preliminary hearings judge and a higher tribunal had said the
case went beyond their jurisdiction since the allegedly defamatory material
originated outside Italy. However, the Court of Cassation Wednesday ruled
Italy has jurisdiction since end-users connect to the sites from Italian
territory.




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