Yahoo: Complying with order 'impossible'

"It is impossible to comply with that order," said Greg Wrenn, attorney for Yahoo! Inc. "The judge's main order ... nobody has the technology to comply with that."

But officials from Redwood City-based Quova Inc. say they've got technology that identifies where users log on, making it possible for Yahoo! to block certain sites from French users.

The company is developing software called GeoPoint, which targets locations where users are accessing the Internet, said Mitchell Golden, company co-founder.

Once Yahoo! determined where users were logging in from, Golden said, it could then filter out Web pages deemed inappropriate for users in France.

But Wrenn said even if Yahoo! instituted a system blocking keyword access, the process of deciding what information to provide would be perhaps an even bigger challenge.

For example, if a keyword block was used for the word "Nazi," Wrenn said it would keep users from pulling up "The Diary of Anne Frank" and other educational and historical sites connected to the Holocaust.

There are three roadblocks Yahoo! would need to overcome to make a system work, Wrenn said.

First, it would have to identify the geographical location where users are logging on to the

Internet.

Then, according to the ruling, it would have to deny access to Nazi-related auction items such as swastika-emblazoned flags and daggers. In addition, Yahoo! would be responsible for monitoring users from accessing any other site or service with content that constitutes an apology for Nazism.

Yahoo! also would have to find a technical means to separate inappropriate material from historical or educational information about the Holocaust.

Yahoo! officials said the ruling could set a precedent that crosses international borders. Free speech advocates also argue the outcome of the case could set dangerous boundaries on information now freely available over the Internet.

"Ultimately, it needs to come back to a U.S. court for a French court to enforce any of its orders," Wrenn said. "The fact is that the two societies have different approaches to this. It's kind of a moral issue around free speech. In the U.S., we're much more tolerant of speech that may be offensive to other countries."

Yahoo! Inc. has a separate corporation in France, but Wrenn said the judge is not targeting that company because any Nazi or other illegal materials in France are removed from the site. However, the judge requested that a legal notice be placed beside any links to the U.S. site.

"Yahoo! France cannot be held accountable for Yahoo! Inc.," Wrenn said. "They're treated as separate people."