Facebook has agreed to provide the names of French users who are suspected of using so-called hate speech on its platform to the courts when requested. Before this mandate, Facebook only provided identification information for terrorism or cases of violence. The European Commission defines illegal hate speech as public conduct that incites violence or hatred to groups of people defined by characteristics such as race, religion, and ethnic origin. One critic said that hate speech is no longer considered part of freedom of speech, it’s now on the same level as terrorism. The policy could spread to other European countries.
Facebook has agreed to give the names of French users who are suspected of using hate speech on its platform to the courts when requested.
The deal is believed to be the first of its kind in the world.
In the past, the tech giant has revealed IP addresses and other forms of identification to French judges – but only in cases relating to terrorism and violent acts.
Cedric O, French minister for digital affairs, called the deal “huge news”.
Illegal hate speech is defined by the European Commission as public conduct that incites violence or hatred to groups of people defined by characteristics such as race, religion, and ethnic origin.
Additional source:
wpDiscuz
[…] 27, 2019 BBC No Comments This post was originally published on this […]