Two British newspaper publishers have been fined in French courts because articles on their websites violated French privacy laws.
Olivier Martinez, ex-boyfriend of Kylie Minogue, sued Mirror Group Newspapers and Associated Newspapers for infringement of his privacy rights after the newspapers published stories suggesting Martinez and Minogue had recommenced their relationship, which had ended a year previously. The stories also detailed their movements together in Paris earlier this year.
The Paris Tribunal rejected argument over jurisdiction on the basis that the online versions of the articles were accessible in France and went on to award the actor €4,500 for each title.
Martinez also won in a case against three websites earlier this year when a court ruled that by publishing a link to offending material the blogs were liable for the privacy invasions of that material.
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