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Tag: unbonjuif

  • Twitter Loses French Appeal, Told to Give Up Anti-Semitic Users

    Twitter has lost its latest appeal in a racist tweet controversy that’s persisted for nearly 8 months. According to a French court, following French law is not optional for U.S.-based Twitter, and they will be compelled to turn over the identities of users deemed in violation of French anti-discrimination laws.

    It’s a long story, but here’s the quick version. Back in October of 2012, a hashtag emerged on Twitter that many users found gravely offensive. The hashtag, #unbonjuif, roughly translates to “a good jew” in English. The hashtag was used to make anti-Semitic jokes – like posting a photo of a dustpan alongside the hashtag. Soon, a few French anti-racism groups spearhead by the French Jewish Students Union (UEJF) demanded that Twitter remove the offending tweets. After enough pressure mounted as to become unbearable, Twitter finally caved.

    But the tweet removal didn’t satisfy the UEJF. They then demanded that Twitter disclose the identities of the anti-Semitic users so that they could ace prosecution under local anti-discrimination laws. Twitter drew the line there, and it led to a lawsuit.

    In January, a French court ordered Twitter to provide the identities of the users. Twitter said that they would review the decision, and proceeded to appeal.

    Back in March, the UEJF sued Twitter for $50 million for witholding the identities of the anti-Semitic users.

    And that brings us up to date. Now, a French court has rejected Twitter’s appeal.

    “We have made ​​significant progress with Twitter since December. Associations that fight against discrimination can intervene to stop the avalanche of hate speech that regularly pour [out] on the Internet. But illegal [messages] posted on Twitter remain no less illegal, and the application of French law is not [optional],”, said a government spokesperson. “Twitter must execute court decisions to allow identification, and thus the conviction of the perpetrators of these heinous tweets ”

    The UEJF applauded the court’s decision.

    “The French Justice confirms that Twitter is ultimately responsible for racist and anti-Semitic content posted by users, as the UEJF argued for months. That Twitter can no longer play with the French justice was extremely clear. Our goal is to put a halt to the feeling of impunity for racist and anti-Semitic authors on the Internet. Twitter must cooperate when this is the case,” said the group’s president, Jonathan Hayoun.

    “We are disappointed that the Court has decided not to hear our appeal,” said Twitter in a statement. “We are considering our options, including resubmitting the appeal.”

  • Twitter Sued for $50M in France for Withholding the Identities of Anti-Semitic Users

    Twitter is being sued in France for failing to disclose the identities of users wrapped up in an anti-Semitic hashtag controversy that has spanned five months.

    Here’s my attempt to make a long story short:

    Back in October of 2012, a hashtag emerged on Twitter that many users found exceedingly offensive. The hashtag, #unbonjuif, roughly translates to “a good jew.” Some Twitter users jumped on the hashtag, posting photos of dust-filled dustpans and other anti-Semitic jokes alongside the hashtag.

    A handful of French anti-racism groups called out Twitter, asking that the site remove all of the offending tweets. Eventually, as the pressure mounted, Twitter complied.

    But some of the groups, including the French Jewish Students Union (UEJF), decided to push Twitter a bit further. They demanded that Twitter give up the names of all of the users associated with the #unbonjuif tweets, so that they could be prosecuted under local anti-hate speech laws. Twitter wasn’t too keen on this idea, and that led the UEJF to file a summons against the company back in November.

    In January, a French court ruled that Twitter must provide the identities of the requested users, to comply with French law. Twitter said that they would review the decision.

    And that brings us up to date. The UEJF has officially taken action against Twitter, suing them for roughly $50 million for failing to carry through with the court’s order. Twitter apparently had two weeks to hand over the names, and that time has come and gone.

    “Twitter is playing the indifference card and does not respect the ruling,” said UEJF President Jonathan Hayoun. “They have resolved to protect the anonymity of the authors of these tweets and have made themselves accomplices to racists and anti-Semites.”

    Twitter reserves the right to give up any information it holds on users if requested by law enforcement or by a court order. They say so in their terms of service – this is not part of the debate. In the past, however, Twitter has gone to bat to protect user privacy when they sense some government overreach. In September of 2012, Twitter gave in to the Manhattan D.A.’s office and gave up the deleted, inaccessible tweets of an Occupy Wall Street protester – but only after they fought it tooth and nail.

    You may remember that they also blocked a neo-Nazi account in Germany last year, utilizing their self-appointed authority to censor content locally if they saw fit. Blocking or removing content is one thing, but disclosing the identities of users in order to aid in regional hate-speech laws is a different ballgame.

    [UEJF via JTA]

  • Twitter Must Give Up Anti-Semitic Users, Says French Court

    Twitter is once again going to be forced to make a decision on how far they will go to protect the privacy rights of its users, thanks to a ruling made today by a French court.

    The court ruled that Twitter must turn over the identities of users behind a specific set of tweets, after they had been deemed to be in violation of French anti-hate speech laws.

    The whole thing started back in October of 2012 when some Twitter users jumped on a trending hashtag, #unbonjuif, which roughly translates to “a good jew.” Some users posted photos of dust-filled dustpans, among other offensive jokes alongside the hashtag. French anti-racism groups made their displeasure known, and Twitter agreed to remove the offending tweets amidst mounting pressure.

    Although Twitter complied with the requests of the French Jewish Students Union (among others), they balked at the groups’ next request. the UEJF demanded that Twitter turn over the names of the users behind the aforementioned tweets, so that they could be prosecuted under local anti-hate speech laws.

    The UEJF filed a summons in a French court back in November.

    And today, the court has ruled that Twitter must provide the identities of the requested users, as accordance with French law. Twitter has only responded that they are reviewing the decision.

    Twitter definitely reserves the right to give up any information it holds on users if requested by law enforcement or by a court order. But they have, at least in the past, gone to bat to protect user privacy when they sense some government overreach. Back in September, Twitter finally gave in to the Manhattan D.A.’s office and gave up the deleted, inaccessible tweets of an Occupy Wall Street protester – but only after they fought it tooth and nail.

    Any time something like this comes up, the topic of free speech usually accompanies the dialogue. In this case, it comes down to speech vs. hate-speech laws in France.

    Twitter faced backlash from free speech advocates last year when they blocked a neo-Nazi account – but in Germany only. It was the first time that Twitter had utilized a “power” that it gave itself last year, the power to locally censor content if they saw fit.