Mosley files a lawsuit in French courts

The president of the International Automobile Federation – better known by the abbreviation FIA – filed a legal appeal this morning in Paris to ban copies of compromising videos about him, as well as to penalize the authors and other newspapers that relayed the information.

The video about Mosley appeared on a video-sharing site last month. The original publication is French, and the French media were logically the first to seize on the scandal.

Once the information was relayed, numerous international media outlets requested copies of the articles and the compromising video from French newspapers and magazines. It is against this data transmission that Max Mosley plans to pose his veto. It was mainly British media and the print press that took advantage. The newspaper News of the World even posted the video on its website before removing it following a court decision and then reinstating it.

This video, which features a Nazi-themed setup involving Mosley and two prostitutes, was at the center of an unprecedented scandal for the federation. With this legal action, Mosley hopes to ease the tensions. He has also sought damages (around €25,000) from each media outlet involved in the scandal, including « The News of the World. »

Philippe Ouakrat, Mosley’s lawyer, commented that he wants to have French rights on privacy protection, which are much more restrictive than British legislation. The results of the hearing could be known as early as today.

It is also important to remember that the video is accessible, even today, only via the French web.