The Local France

French cops tweet photo of murder victim's corpse

Wed, 26 Feb 2014 12:59:00 +0100

French cops made a Twitter blunder this week when, in launching an appeal to identify a murder victim, they tweeted out a disturbing photo of the face of a dead man in the hope someone might recognize him. It's not the only recent social media gaffe police have made.

Twitter: France leads world in battling abuse

Fri, 07 Feb 2014 14:08:00 +0100

When it comes to countries demanding Twitter remove abusive or illegal tweets France stands out well ahead of the pack. Is it something to be proud of or is it a sign of a growing infringement on basic civil liberties?

Twitter slammed over '#Gays Must Die' hashtag

Mon, 12 Aug 2013 15:57:00 +0200

A French gay rights group announced on Monday it plans to file a law suit against Twitter on the grounds of violating hate speech laws, after the emergence of the hashtag “#Gays must die”, which topped the "trending topics" on the site over the weekend.

French Jewish student group to sue Twitter CEO

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:11:46 +0100

A Jewish student group has announced it was taking further legal action against Twitter over the global networking site's failure to respond to a French court order to hand over data to help identify the authors of anti-Semitic tweets.

Is France right to make Twitter ID racist users?

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:23:00 +0100

A French court made a landmark ruling this week, forcing Twitter to hand over data to help authorities identify the authors of racist tweets. Anti-racism campaigner Philippe Schmidt and internet rights activist Rick Falkvinge have given The Local their opposing views on this controversial ruling.

France bins Twitter's 'hashtag' for Gallic word

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:40:00 +0100

The word hashtag has been confined to the dustbin by authorities in France who want French tweeters to use the official Gallic equivalent “mot-dièse” in future.

Twitter under fire in anti-Semitism scandal

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:56:00 +0200

A Jewish organization will attempt to get a legal judgment against social network Twitter later on Friday, to block and reveal the identities of users who sent anti-Semitic tweets under the hashtag #UnBonJuif - A Good Jew.

Trierweiler says sorry

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 12:15:00 +0200

France’s first lady, Valérie Trierweiler, has spoken for the first time of her regrets over a tweet sent in June revealing a rivalry between her and President François Hollande’s ex wife, Ségolène Royal.

French minister invites 13,000 Twitter fans to bed

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:56:00 +0200

France's industry minister, Eric Besson, caused much mirth on Wednesday when a flirtatious private message meant for his wife was sent as a public tweet, to his 13,000 followers.