Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Civil Liberties

Twitter Relents to the French, Hands over User Data in Hate Speech Case

Scott Shackford | 7.12.2013 2:30 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
Large image on homepages | Twitter logo
(Twitter logo)

Twitter had been resisting demands by the French government to fork over user data so that they can track down people who tweeted anti-Semitic comments and charge them with violations of hate speech laws there.

They've finally given in. According to The Guardian:

Twitter has handed French authorities data which could identify the users behind a spate of antisemitic tweets after a long court battle begun by anti-racism campaigners.

In a rare move, the microblogging site announced on Friday that "in response to a valid legal request" it had provided the Paris prosecutor with "data that may enable the identification of certain users that the vice-prosecutor believes have violated French law". Twitter said this gesture put an end to the long legal dispute.

In October last year, there was outrage after numerous antisemitic comments were tweeted under the hashtags #UnBonJuif (a good Jew) and #UnJuifMort (a dead Jew). When alerted to the tweets, Twitter immediately removed them.

It's not clear if the absurd $50 million civil lawsuit against Twitter by the French Union of Jewish Students will continue on or be dropped now.

Follow this story and more at Reason 24/7.

Spice up your blog or Website with Reason 24/7 news and Reason articles. You can get the widgets here. If you have a story that would be of interest to Reason's readers please let us know by emailing the 24/7 crew at 24_7@reason.com, or tweet us stories at @reason247.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Feds Analyze Problem of Shattered Baseball Bats at MLB Games

Scott Shackford is a policy research editor at Reason Foundation.

Civil LibertiesScience & TechnologyWorldHate SpeechTwitterFranceAntisemitism
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (31)

Latest

Trump's Tax Plan Is a Leftist Economic Agenda Wrapped in Populist Talking Points

Veronique de Rugy | 5.15.2025 12:01 AM

Republican Reconciliation Package Will Lead to $3 Trillion Annual Deficits

Christian Britschgi | 5.14.2025 5:09 PM

Gavin Newsom Wants To Make the Country's Most Expensive Gas Even More Expensive

Jeff Luse | 5.14.2025 3:30 PM

Trump's Case Against Birthright Citizenship Is a Constitutional Loser

Damon Root | 5.14.2025 2:35 PM

The Court-Ordered Takeover of Rikers Shows the Crisis in American Prisons and Jails

C.J. Ciaramella | 5.14.2025 1:55 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!