Alleging that Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube service had failed to remove ‘hateful content’ posted on their sites, there French organizations say they will file legal complaints against the three IT companies.

The internet giants have only removed a small portion of inappropriate content posted in a measured period, says the French Jewish students union UEJF, SOS Racisme and SOS Homophobie.

586 offensive posts between 31 March and 10 May were found by the French Jewish Students Union (UEJF), SOS Racisme and SOS Homophobie, said the three organizations.

Reporting of racist, anti-Semitic or homophobic material by the IT companies is a legal requirement for all IT companies in France and it is also the responsibility of the IT companies to also remove it from their platforms.

Among all the offensive material posted between the end of March and May 10, Twitter removed only four percent, YouTube seven percent and Facebook 34 per cent, the three associations said in a joint presentation.

It was strange that the process of moderating comments wasn’t better understood, said UEJF president Sacha Reingewirtz in a French television interview.

“We don’t know who they are, which is strange from companies like that. Companies with such amazing technology and who pay little tax in France, but yet the practice of moderation remains such a mystery,” he said.

“In light of YouTube, Twitter and Facebook’s profits and how little taxes they pay, their refusal to invest in the fight against hate is unacceptable,” said UEJFpresident Sacha Reingewirtz.

All three internet firms have been contacted by CNBC. It had no statement to make other than the company has clear guidelines on hate speech, Google’s YouTube had responded.

There has been a separate row that is brewing over a YouTube video which shows a dog raising its paw after it hears an anti-Semitic slur.

The dog is seen to be performing a ‘Nazi salute’ after the man says the phrase “Sieg Heil” in the video that has now been viewed more than 1.5 million times.

The pug dog also reacts after hearing the words “Gas the Jews.”

He is a not a racist, but is only trying to play a “joke” on his girlfriend, Sue, insists the video’s creator Markus Meechan from Scotland, at the end of the video. Meechan has since been arrested and Poilce Scotland confirmed the arrest was in relation to the alleged publication of offensive material online.

After contacting CNBC, the company said it remained confident in its moderating policy and the video has not yet been removed.

YouTube’s community policy states that the platform does not support content which “promotes or condones violence against individuals or groups based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, nationality, veteran status or sexual orientation/gender identity, or whose primary purpose is inciting hatred on the basis of these core characteristics”.

“It does allow “clear attempts at humour or satire that might otherwise be considered a possible threat or attack,” says Facebbook which has a guideline that is similar to that of YouTube.

On the other hand, the rules of Twitter states: “We believe in freedom of expression and in speaking truth to power, but that means little as an underlying philosophy if voices are silenced because people are afraid to speak up”  and hence it continues, it does not tolerate behaviour that “crosses the line into abuse”.

(Adapted from CNBC)

Categories: Geopolitics