French court orders Twitter to identify racist tweeters

January 25, 2013

A French court has ordered Twitter to hand over any data that could help authorities there identify people who posted racist and anti-Semitic tweets on its website. The case, decided January 24 in the 17th Chamber of the Paris Criminal Court, stems from a complaint filed in October by the Union of French Jewish Students. The group acted after an uptick in anti-Semitic remarks were posted to Twitter under the hashtag #agoodjew. The student group wanted Twitter to remove the tweets and to adopt a new system for responding to hateful messages. "We ask Twitter to take responsibility," UEJF president Jonathan Hayoun said prior to the ruling. But the court's decision went further, requiring Twitter to turn over any data that could identify those who posted the tweets. Twitter's French site must also provide an easy way for users to flag tweets deemed illegal under French law, including racist and hateful messages. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2026228/french-court-orders-twitter-to-identify-racist-tweeters.html