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French court says Twitter must reveal measures to tackle online hate speech

A court in Paris has ordered that social media giant Twitter must reveal the steps in will implement to tackle hate speech online after anti-discrimination groups launched a legal case.

Twitter has come under fire for not doing enough to moderate hate speech online.
Twitter has come under fire for not doing enough to moderate hate speech online. A French court has ordered the social media giant to reveal the steps it will take to tackle the problem. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)

A Paris court on Thursday ruled that Twitter must reveal its measures for fighting hate speech, in one of several cases thrashing out whether the French justice system has jurisdiction over the US social media giant.

Ireland-based Twitter International had appealed a July decision ordering it to share documents and details about its French moderation team and data on their activities against hate speech.

That case had been brought by several anti-discrimination groups over what they said was the company’s longstanding failure to properly moderate posts.

The appeals court on Thursday confirmed the first judgement and further ordered Twitter to pay €1,500 to the groups, including SOS Racisme, SOS Homophobie and the International League against racism and anti-Semitism (Licra).

In another Paris case, three victims of terrorist attacks who have suffered online harassment are suing Twitter France.

They argue it was the company’s fault that their cases against their harassers failed, as it did not provide identifying information that investigators had asked for.

In that case, Twitter France chief Damien Viel told a court last week that “I’m in charge of Twitter’s business development and nothing more”.

Providing data to the authorities was “up to the good will of Twitter International, which is outside French jurisdiction and can decide whether to cooperate or not,” his lawyer Karim Beylouni added.

In still another case in Versailles, just outside Paris, Twitter France has said it is unable to comply with a police request for information on people who sent insults and threats to a public official.

The local office says it does not store any information, with all data handled by the group’s European mothership based in Ireland.

But prosecutors have asked for fines as high as 75,000 euros against both Twitter France and manager Viel personally.

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LIVING IN FRANCE

Don’t panic! People in south west France to get test alert message

If you live in the Dordogne département in France, do not panic if you receive an emergency test alert on Tuesday morning. It's part of a test by local authorities.

Don't panic! People in south west France to get test alert message

On Tuesday morning, between 10am and 11am, people in the south-western département of Dordogne will receive a message from the FR-Alert system, as local authorities test the device.

FR-Alert is France’s nationwide system of emergency text alerts, which cover extreme weather, health alerts, chemical spills or terror attacks. They are sent directly to phones of people in the affected areas.

READ MORE: FR-Alert: How France’s emergency text alert system works

You can expect your phone to emit a ‘brief but shrill’ sound during the test, even if it is in silent mode. Then, the alert informs you of the location of the danger and steps to take to protect yourself.

The messages are sent to both French-registered and non-French phones which are in an alert zone – if you’re driving you will receive an alert as soon as you enter the alert zone.

As for language, messages will usually be sent in French, although local authorities in areas that are known tourist zones can opt to send their messages in both English and French.

Why the test on Tuesday?

The local authority (préfet) Jean-Sébastien Lamontagne told the French press during a briefing that Dordogne was “one of the last departments to test it”.

“Our goal is to verify that the system is in good working order and to make the general public aware of its presence,” Lamontagne added.

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