Austrian Court Requires Facebook To Delete Hate Posting About Leader Of Green Party

An Austrian court required on Friday for Facebook to delete all hate postings written by a user with a fake profile about Austrian MP Eva Glawischnig. She was described as a “corrupt tramp” and “rotten traitor.” Despite several requests to Facebook for the deletion of the hate postings, the Green Party claims the posts remain on the popular social media site.

Besides ordering Facebook to remove the posts, the appeals court also required the company founded by Mark Zuckerberg to also delete verbatim posts across the world and not just to block the posts from users in Austria, Engadget reports. The party wants a higher court to order Facebook to delete not only similar posts but also identify who owns the fake accounts and pay damages.

Paying damages would encourage the victims of other hate postings to also seek payment of damages. Dieter Brosz, a Green MP, says, “Facebook must put up with the accusation that it is the world's biggest platform for hate and that it is doing nothing against this.”

Phys.org reports that Facebook claims any court action against the company could only be heard in Ireland or California where the portal’s European headquarters and world offices are located, respectively. Maria Windhager, the lawyer of Eva Glawischnig, said the Austrian appeal court’s ruling rebuffs Facebook’s claims.

It is not just Facebook but also Google, Twitter and other social media sites that lawmakers across Europe are considering ways to force these portals to swiftly delete hate speech or other postings that incite members to violence, Fortune reports. In April, the German cabinet approved a plan to penalize social media sites like Facebook up to $55 million if the portals would not delete the hate postings immediately. If the European Union would follow Germany’s example, it would expand the plan throughout the entire EU.