A French court has ruled that that it has jurisdiction to judge a case against Facebook , after the U.S.-based social network blocked a man 's account for posting a painting of a woman 's genitals . The Frenchman , a teacher and a father-of-three , posted an explicit 19th-century oil painting depicting the lower half of a naked woman in 2011 , and was subsequently blocked . The man sued Facebook that year , but lawyers representing the social network has argued that it does not fall under French jurisdiction . Blocked account : The Frenchman , a teacher and father-of-three , was blocked after posting an image of Gustave Coubet 's painting The Origin Of The World on his Facebook account . The unnamed man had posted an image of Gustave Coubet 's painting The Origin Of The World on the social networking site four years ago . He claims he missed messages and 'social contact ' from his 800 Facebook friends when the page was taken down on the eve of his birthday on February 27 , 2011 . At the time , the unnamed man 's lawyer Stephane Cottineau said repeated emails to the California based company demanding the page be reinstated had also gone unanswered . He added : 'This blind censorship and refusal to reply to emails suggests he is not worthy of their attention and is someone who has acted immorally or illegally . 'Deleting his account is a breach of his human rights , which guarantees my client 's freedom of expression . French rules : The Paris court has ruled that that it does have jurisdiction to judge a case against Facebook , despite the U.S.-based social network arguing it has to be done in California . 'It is also in breach of his rights as a consumer under French law . ' Earlier this year , Facebook 's lawyer Caroline Lyannaz argued that the site did not fall under French jurisdiction as users have to sign a clause agreeing that only a California court can rule in disputes relating to the firm . Facebook 's rules state users 'will not post content that is hateful , threatening , or pornographic , or that incites violence , or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence . ' However , a Paris court ruled yesterday that Facebook 's clause forcing all users to agree that any litigation must be based in the U.S. state , where the site is based , was 'abusive ' . Mr Cottineau hailed the court ruling as a 'first victory won by David against Goliath ' . 'This decision will create jurisprudence for other social media and other Internet giants who use their being headquartered abroad , mainly in the United States , to attempt to evade French law . ' The lawyer said this was an 'abusive clause ' as none of the 22 million Facebook users in France 'can ever take recourse to French legal jurisdiction in the event of a dispute . ' Facebook said it noted the judgement and was considering its response . The court will hear the case on May 21 .
Man posted 19th-century painting of woman 's genitals on Facebook . Facebook ruled Gustave Courbet 's 'The Origin of the World ' porn . The Frenchman 's account was blocked , and he sued in 2011 . Paris court says forcing users to only sue in California is 'abusive '