FIA president Max Mosley Loses Bid to Ban Online Sex Tape

FIA president Max Mosley has lost his bid to ban the video of him cavorting with five prostitutes from being shown on the internet.

Mr. Justice Eady of the High Court in London refused to grant Mosley an injunction against the tabloid News of the World showing the video clips online, ruling that the content of the video was so widely familiar that Mosley could not reasonably expect to keep it out of the public domain.

"The dam has effectively burst," concluded judge Eady.

"I have, with some reluctance, come to the conclusion that although this material is intrusive and demeaning, and despite the fact that there is no legitimate public interest in its further publication, the granting of an order against this respondent at the present juncture would merely be a futile gesture."

News of the World proudly proclaimed that the video was "back on the website" and that new recordings of the FIA boss featuring previously unheard soundbites of him speaking German were also available.

"In the first clip, Mosley is clearly heard saying to a vice girl: 'Ze need more of ze punishment I think.'" says News of the World. "And in the second clip, Mosley tells a dominatrix vice girl: 'You are doing good job. Zank you.'"

"The clips will shatter Mosley's claims that there were no Nazi connotations in the marathon sex session."

Judge Eady noted in his ruling that for the two days the video was online in late March, it was viewed more than 1.4-million times. The website says since putting the video back online following the ruling, traffic has increased "by 600%".

There have been numerous calls for Mosley to step down in the wake of the sex tape coming to light and the governing body will gather June 3 in Paris to vote on his future as president.

News of the World says it will only show footage which had been previously posted but that the members of the governing body would get a much longer extract to view prior to their extraordinary meeting.

Mosley has filed a lawsuit against News Group Newspapers for this invasion of his privacy. That case isn't expected to come before the courts until July. No monetary damages are specified in the lawsuit but Mosley says whatever he is awarded he will donate to the FIA Foundation, which promotes motor safety and the environment.
Source: tsn.ca