The accusation criticizes the social network to block access to user information in a survey on insulting tweets aimed at a person in charge of the Yvelines Prefecture. The judgment will be rendered on March 21st.
Le Monde with AFP
Twitter France and General Manager, Damien Viel, were judged, Monday, January 18, to Versailles, notified respectively to “refusal to respond to a requisition” and “complicity of public insult” after two insulting tweets aiming for a manager of the Prefecture of Yvelines.
Tilts “the total failure” of “moderation on Twitter”, become in his eyes “a totally asocial network (…) which can affect the public peace and the proper functioning of our society”, the prosecutor Required The maximum fine against Twitter and Damien Viel, or € 3,750 or 75,000 euros each, depending on the infringement retained.
Everything starts in March 2021 when, on his Twitter account, the Yvelines Prefecture publishes a message showing his Secretary-General attending monitoring operations. A user of the social network then responds to this message by comparing the police for the Petain police. Another qualifies the head of the prefecture of “Nazi”, adding: “It would be necessary to hang it on the liberation that one”.
The data is stored by the parent company, Ireland
The Versailles prosecutor opens an investigation to insult these two tweets and, to identify the authors who operate anonymously on the social network, the gendarmes send a requisition to Twitter France. But, as Damien Viel explained during the audience on Monday, Twitter France “is an entity that does not store data”, the latter being kept and treated by the European subsidiary of the parent house TWITTER INC, located in Ireland.
Now, the public prosecutor toured during the hearing, Twitter Inc. refuses “deliberately” to transmit this information, which more is within the deadlines of French justice. “Twitter International does not answer, we decided to embody Twitter France” and returning the company and its managing director to the court, explained the Prosecutor Philippe Toccanier. According to the Prosecution, this is the first time that Twitter is judged to the criminal in France for “refusal to respond to a requisition of the prosecutor”.
A recurring conflict
In Paris, several discrimination combination associations have assigned in May 2020 the social network to the blue bird, judging that it lacked “ancient and persistent” to its obligations of moderation of content on its platform form. The court sentenced Twitter to communicate the documents precisely detailing his means of combating hatred in linen. The social network disputed this decision, he again defended in December 2021 before the Court of Appeal, who must make his decision this week.
In another Parisian file, three victims of terrorism, on-line harassment targets, pursue Twitter, held responsible for the classification without a continuation of their complaints since not responded to judicial requests to identify their stalkers.
“I am in charge of the Economic Development of Twitter and no other thing” has justified Monday, Damien Viel who, interrogated by the Tribunal, did not assume his status as a “Director General”, preferring him That of “Country Manager”. Transmission to French justice of the information it asks “depends on the goodwill of Twitter International, which is outside the French court and choosing to cooperate or not,” said his lawyer, M e Karim Beylouni.
The authors of the two insulting tweets against the Secretary General of the Prefecture have not been identified. The judgment will be rendered on March 21st.