Yahoo! Inc. v. La Ligue Contre Le Racisme Et, L'Antisemitisme
Opinion
Opinion
Fogel, J.
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS
This case presents novel legal issues arising from the global nature of the Internet. See Reno v. ACLU, 521 U.S. 844 , 117 S.Ct. 2329 , 138 L.Ed.2d 874 (1997) (describing the Internet as a unique and wholly new medium of worldwide human communication) (internal citation omitted). Defendants La Ligue Contre Le Racisme Et L’Antisemitisme (“LICRA”) and L’Union Des Etudiants Juifs De France (“UEJF”) have obtained a court order in France which requires Plaintiff Yahoo!, Inc. (“Yahoo!”) to “render impossible” access by persons in France to certain content on servers based in the United States. Yahoo! now seeks a declaration by this Court that the order of the French court is unenforceable in the United States because it contravenes the Constitution and laws of the United States. Defendants move for dismissal of this action on the ground that this Court lacks personal jurisdiction over them. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2). The Court has read the moving and responding papers and has considered the oral arguments of counsel presented on Monday, April 9, 2001. For the reasons set forth below, the motion will be denied.