A French court ruled that that it is “illegal to take and distribute images of an individual in a private space without that person’s permission” which requires Google to “automatically filter its search engine” in France as reported by the New York Times. The case against Google was brought by Max Mosley (the former president of the International Automobile Federation) and the New York Times reported about the November 6, 2013 court ruling:
Google said that would limit freedom of speech, forcing the company to block search results without any person or court overseeing the context in which the images appeared
Analysts said the ruling against Google could lead to greater restrictions on what was accessible through search results and could prompt more people to demand that the United States technology company remove references to their private activities
This ruling may have a far reaching impact on Google, and other US based Internet businesses which conduct business in France and the EU.