The French Assembly has passed by a large majority a new law to combat hate speech online. Modeled on legislation passed by Germany last year, the law gives social networks and other major online platforms 24 hours from notification to take down clearly offensive posts. If they do not respond appropriately, the sites can face fines of up to 4 percent of their annual turnover.
The law targets incitement to hate or violence, including posts targeting a certain race or religion. Online platforms will be expected to open up on their efforts to track and take down such content, make it easier for users to report such offences and cooperate more closely with the authorities on tracking down the authors, AFP reports. The media regulator CSA will be in charge of enforcing the legislation and a new unit at the public prosecutor will be able to request take-downs directly from ISPs.
