Facebook can be forced to remove content worldwide
BRUSSELS: The EU’s top court ruled yesterday that member countries could force Facebook to remove or block unlawful material worldwide, in a case that raises new questions about the responsibilities of tech giants.
The European Court of Justice ruling, which cannot be appealed against, is seen as a defeat for Facebook and similar online platforms, as it would increase the onus on them to monitor what appeared online.
Internet companies would only be forced to take action worldwide when ordered to do so by a court in EU countries – and not by governments, for example. That means any requests would have to go through a longer procedure than a simple complaint to a regulator.
“EU law does not preclude a host provider such as Facebook being ordered to remove identical and, in certain circumstances, equivalent comments previously declared illegal,” the court said. “In addition, EU law does not preclude such an injunction from producing effects worldwide, within the framework of the relevant international law which it is for member states to take into account.”
The court ruled after an Austrian politician, Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek, sued Facebook in her home nation to remove a news story she considered libellous and insulting and that could be viewed globally. It related to her support for refugees and featured a picture of her.
An Austrian court ruled in favour of Glawischnig-Piesczek, who was the Greens party chair. The country’s top court then turned to the EU’s top court for an interpretation of a European rule that says online platforms are not liable for illegal content they were unaware of, as long as they acted swiftly to remove or block it once they were informed about it.
Facebook said the ruling raised critical questions around the freedom of expression.
It already has a system to restrict content if and where it violates any given country’s laws. “This ruling goes much further,” it said.
“It undermines the long-standing principle that one country does not have the right to impose its laws on speech on another country.”
The move comes after the same court ruled last month that the EU’s “right to be forgotten” rules – which allow people to ask for the removal of some search results that come up for their name – did not apply outside the 28-nation bloc.
Yesterday’s ruling on Facebook is likely to encourage internet platforms more widely to step up their efforts to monitor user content.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association, a lobby group that includes members such as Amazon, Facebook and Google, said yesterday’s decision could infringe the right to free speech.
“The ruling essentially allows one country or region to decide what Internet users around the world can say and what information they can access,” said CCIA Europe senior manager Victoria de Posson. “What might be considered defamatory comments about someone in one country will likely be considered constitutional free speech in another. Few hosting platforms, especially start-ups, will have the resources to implement elaborate monitoring systems.”
Activists at the European Digital Rights organisation said companies like Facebook could have to rely on automatic filters that would be unable to distinguish between legal and illegal content. And that would be based on algorithms that the wider public would be unable to evaluate.