A French court will hear from a teacher suing Facebook after the social network suspended his account when he posted a picture of a 19th-century nude artwork. The ruling could open US Internet firms to foreign lawsuits.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/L. Venance
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On Friday, a Paris appeals court upheld a lower court's ruling, clearing the way for Facebook to be sued in France. At the heart of the case is Frederic Durand-Baissas, a French teacher and art lover whose Facebook account was suspended after he posted a picture of a nude painting.
The disputed painting is Gustave Courbet's 1866 "The Origin of the World," which depicts a close-up view of a woman's genitals.
"This is a case of free speech and censorship on a social network," Durand-Baissas told AP news agency in a phone interview. "If [Facebook] can't see the difference between an artistic masterpiece and a pornographic image, we in France [can]."
Durand-Baissas is asking for his account to be reactivated and wants 20,000 euros ($22,550) in damages. He said he's "glad" he has been given the chance to get some sort of explanation from the social network.
Facebook's current "Community Standards," which were not in effect when Durand-Baissas' account was suspended, allow for "photographs of paintings, sculptures and other art that depicts nude figures."
"This case dates back more than five years, and Facebook has evolved considerably since then," spokeswoman Christine Chen said in an emailed statement, AP reported. "While we are disappointed by today's ruling on jurisdiction, we remain confident that the court will find the underlying case itself to be without merit."
Center for persecuted arts opens in Germany
Both the Nazis and the communist East German regime persecuted artists. A new center, initiated by the Wuppertal-based journalist Hajo Jahn, commemorates them.
Image: DW/S. Dtege
Restored to grace
Milly Steger of Wuppertal was a much-traveled artist who admired the works of Auguste Rodin and Aristide Maillol. The Nazis deemed Milly Steger's sculptures "degenerate" and expropriated them. Her works are among those featured at the new Center for Persecuted Arts in Solingen in central-western Germany.
Image: Zentrum für verfolgte Künste/DW/S. Dtege
Images of horror
Israeli caricaturist Michel Kichka is the son of a Holocaust survivor. He has tried to come to terms with the experiences his father had in a concentration camp by producing the graphic novel "Second Generation." The original design can be seen in the Solingen Center for Persecuted Arts.
Image: Zentrum für verfolgte Künste/DW/S. Dtege
Days of change
Vaclav Havel was one of the dissidents of Czech literature. After the end of the Cold War, he became the first president of the Czech Republic. A wall with pictures tells the story of political transformation. While he was not German, he was impacted by the Soviet regime, just like his colleagues in East Germany.
Image: Zentrum für verfolgte Künste/DW/S. Dtege
Self-portrait of a persecuted painter
"Selbst in Spiegelscherbe" (Self in a broken piece of mirror) is the title of a 1943 oil painting by German artist Carl Rabus. One year before the painter fled into exile, his works, qualified as "degenerate," had been confiscated. The painter, arrested by the Gestapo, spent most of the time until the end of the war in 1945 in prison.
Image: Zentrum für verfolgte Künste/DW/S. Dtege
Reaching for the sun
"Icarus" is the title of this painting by Oscar Zügel of 1935. The Nazis recognized it for what it was: criticism of their regime. According to Greek mythology, Icarus was overly giddy after receiving a new pair of wings and flew too close to the sun, melting off the feathers. He fell into what is now the Icarian Sea.
Image: Zentrum für verfolgte Künste/DW/S. Dtege
Literary works
The Solingen center also incorporates the works of poets, including Wuppertal native Else Lasker-Schüler. As a Jew, she was forced to flee Germany during the Holocaust, as her works were stigmatized as "degenerate."
Image: Zentrum für verfolgte Künste/DW/S. Dtege
Deep thought
After 1945, artist Carl Rabus, affected by his experience during the Nazi era, created the woodcut "Die Passion." This painting shows two men immersed in thoughtful dismay. Rabus' works were branded "degenerate" by the Nazis.
Image: Zentrum für verfolgte Künste/DW/S. Dtege
The ascension
Pictured is a scene from "Elias Himmelfahrt" (the ascension of Elias) by Hans Feibusch. The Frankfurt-based painter, a student of Karl Hofer, already fled into British exile in 1933. The Nazis had declared his works "degenerate."
Image: DW/S. Dtege
State control
As ordered by Adolf Hitler himself, the Nazis arbitrarily confiscated paintings and other works of art. The expropriation order was stuck on the back of the canvas, like in the case of this work created by an unknown artist.
Image: Zentrum für verfolgte Künste/DW/S. Dtege
Center for Persecuted Arts
The Center for Persecuted Arts in Solingen was founded by the Wuppertal-based journalist Hajo Jahn, who developed the idea 25 years ago. Paintings, photos, books, and texts created by persecuted artists and writers are now exhibited in the Art Nouveau building of the Solingen Art Museum.
Image: Zentrum für verfolgte Künste/DW/S. Dtege
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'Abusive' terms of agreement
So far, the case has not hinged on Facebook's nudity policy, but rather on international jurisdiction. Lawyers for the social media site argued that under its terms of service, lawsuits of this nature could only be heard in a specific Californian court where Facebook is headquartered. They also said the contract with the user was "not a consumer contract because Facebook's service was free."
But a French judge dismissed those arguments in a 2015 ruling: "If the proposed service was free to the user, Facebook was generating significant profits from the business, including via paid applications, advertising and other resources."
The court also called the clause in Facebook's terms of agreement - which call for a California court to hear disputes - "unfair" and "abusive."
"This decision is a sovereign act on the part of the French courts, which by this ruling signifies to Facebook - but also to all the Internet giants - that from now on they will have to respect French law," said Stephane Cottineau, who represented Durand-Baissas.
The ruling could now potentially open up other lawsuits against Facebook outside the United States.
