A French court Wednesday ordered Google Inc. to remove private images of a prominent British man from its search engine, in a ruling that could influence broader European efforts to tighten web-privacy rules.

In a closely watched case brought by former Formula One racing chief Max Mosley, Paris's Tribunal de Grande Instance said that Google must remove nine images from its search engine after Mr. Mosley sued in an effort to get the web giant to automatically filter the images and delete any links to them.French Court Rules Google Must Remove Moseley Images From Search [online.wsj.com]

"This decision should worry those who champion the cause of freedom of expression on the Internet," said Daphne Keller, Google's associate general counsel, in a statement.

"The case is not about censuring the content of the Internet, it's about complying with the court decision that already ruled it was a breach of intimacy," said Clara Zerbib, a lawyer for Mr. Mosley.