France's lower parliament passes online hate speech bill

Paris: France's lower parliament passed a landmark bill that would oblige social media companies to remove hate speech within 24 hours or face massive fines.

The bill, which has been debated since early July, was voted 434 to 33 in the 577 seat assembly. Internet companies that produce social media sites will now be responsible for monitoring content and removing objectionable posts within 24 hours or face heavy fines of up to €1.25 million (nearly $1.7 million). The legislation now heads to the Senate where it will be examined.

Operators such as Facebook, Google, Apple, and others have held meetings with French officials on the issue. While the internet giants say they will cooperate with French demands they have argued that the 24-hour deadline is too tight and will lead to problems with users.

Regardless, if social media platforms refuse or cannot remove hate posts in time, they will be fined under the law, parliament said during live debates.

With the law, France is following the example of Germany, which passed similar legislation last year.

Since terror attacks in France in 2015, the country has adopted emergency legislation to put restrictions on certain content on the internet, particularly those that incite terrorist violence.