Court hears Facebook suit

Facebook’s lawyers denied that the company engaged in censorship when it shut down the account of a French user after he posted a photograph of a famous 19th century painting of a woman’s genitals and lower torso.

Frederic DurandBaissas, 59, a primary school teacher in Paris, has sued the powerful social network in French court, claiming Facebook violated his freedom of speech in 2011 by abruptly removing his profile. Durand-Baissas’ account was suspended hours after he posted a photo of Gustave Courbet’s “The Origin of the World,” a painting from 1866 that depicts female genitalia, the teacher has alleged. The case was heard on Thursday in a Paris civil court.

His lawyers have asked the court to order Facebook to reactivate the account and to pay Durand-Baissas $23,500 in damages. DurandBaissas also wants Facebook to explain why his account was closed.

Lawyers for Facebook argued the lawsuit should be dismissed on the grounds that Durand-Baissas allegedly didn’t sue the right Facebook entity. The teacher should have sued Facebook Ireland, the Web host for its service in France, and not Menlo Park’s Facebook, they said.

“Facebook Inc. can’t explain why Facebook Ireland deactivated Mr. Durand-Baissas’ account,” lawyer Caroline Lyannaz said in court Thursday.

The court is expected to rule on March 15.