Failure to delete hate speech could cost Facebook, Google billions in France

Enlarge / Members of the National Assembly (France's legislature) meeting on May 12, amid slowly easing COVID-19 restrictions. (credit: Gonzalo Fuentes | Pool | AFP | Getty Images)

Lawmakers in France this week passed a controversial new law that could impose billions in fines on social media companies that fail to delete certain kinds of content quickly enough-within an hour, in some cases.

The new legislation (page in French) gives online platforms 24 hours from notification to remove certain kinds of content or else face fines.

Content subject to enforcement under the law includes: sexual harassment; child pornography; anything that promotes certain crimes; anything that promotes discrimination, hate, or violence; anything that denies crimes against humanity; and promotion of terrorism. The window for removing content related to child pornography or terrorism is shorter, only one hour.

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