The constitutional court found that the law undermines freedom of speech in a disproportionate way. The decision could have an impact on future EU law on the matter.
A short-lived initiative: In May 2020, France adopted a law for the fight against hate on the internet, based on a proposal of the government which was fast-tracked through Parliament. The law made tech companies and websites responsible for hateful and terrorist content published on their platforms, and required them to remove such content within 24 hours (one hour in the case of terrorist propaganda), or face fines up to €250,000 and up to one year of imprisonment for individuals. On 18 May 2020, the law was referred to the French Constitutional Council by a group of more than 60 senators.
A disproportionate law: On 18 June 2020, the Council decided that many of the provisions in the law are not ‘apt, necessary and proportionate’. The Council argued that the determination of what is illicit content is left to the government, which means it is not subject to the prior decision of a judge, or to any other determination. Also, the period of time left to platforms to remove content is too short to obtain a decision from a judge before being forced to withdraw it. Consequently, the Council also struck down the obligations for platforms to implement procedures for notified content to be processed as fast as possible.
A precedent that could influence EU law: The decision could have a significant impact on future EU legislation. The EC will propose a Digital Services Act in Q4 2020, which will deal with these matters among other issues. The European Commission criticised the French law when it was approved, and the decision of the Constitutional Council is now likely to further limit the ability of the French government to lobby for strict rules related to the removal of hateful content.
