Is free speech on the internet under threat in France?
The so-called Twitter Affair in which anti-Semitic and other racist comments were Tweeted has provoked a major outcry in France over the use and abuse of the internet. The government has promised to take action and a senator is currently overseeing plans for new legislation to 'supervise' the web in France. But many internet rights campaigners fear that freedom of speech could become the first casualty of this war on racist, sexist and homophobic language on the internet. Jérôme Hourdeaux reports.
TheThe so-called Twitter Affair that began in France late last year involved the writing of racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic comments on the micro-blogging site. Dubious and offensive hashtags – the keywords used in Tweets – led to legal action in this country to force US-based Twitter to take action and remove the offending messages.
