In a World First, Facebook To Give Data on Hate Speech Suspects To French Courts

Facebook said it has agreed to give the names of French users who are suspected of using hate speech on its platform to the local courts when requested. The deal is believed to be the first of its kind in the world. From a report: The decision by the world's biggest social media network comes after successive meetings between Zuckerberg and Macron, who wants to take a leading role globally on the regulation of hate speech and the spread of false information online. So far, Facebook has cooperated with French justice on matters related to terrorist attacks and violent acts by transferring the IP addresses and other identification data of suspected individuals to French judges who formally demanded it. Following a meeting between Nick Clegg, Facebook's head of global affairs, and Cedric O (France's minister for digital affairs) last week, the social media company has extended this cooperation to hate speech. "This is huge news, it means that the judicial process will be able to run normally," O told Reuters in an interview. "It's really very important, they're only doing it for France."