29/09/2023, 12:35 SANCHEZ v. FRANCE - 45581/15 (Judgment : No Article 10 - Freedom of expression-{general} : Grand Chamber) [2023] ECHR 418 (1… local politician and a candidate standing for election to local office, who in turn will have a lesser burden than a national figure for whom the requirements will necessarily be even heavier, on account of the weight and scope accorded to his or her words and the resources to which he or she will enjoy greater access in order to intervene efficiently on social media platforms (see, mutatis mutandis, Mesić v. Croatia, no. 19362/18, § 104, 5 May 2022, and Melike, cited above, § 51). (iii) The possibility of holding the authors liable instead of the applicant 202. The Court would first refer to its findings on the lawfulness of the interference (see paragraphs 129-139 above), from which it can clearly be seen that the acts of which the applicant stood accused were both distinct from those committed by the authors of the unlawful comments and governed by a different regime of liability, one that was related to the specific and autonomous status of “producer” within the meaning of section 93-3 of Law no. 82-652 of 29 July 1982, which carried certain requirements. In particular, it would point out that the applicant has failed to show that the interpretation of that provision and its application by the domestic courts were in any way arbitrary or manifestly unreasonable (see paragraph 139 above). 203. Secondly, the Grand Chamber endorses the Chamber’s finding that the applicant was not therefore prosecuted instead of S.B. and L.R., who themselves were also convicted and sentenced (see paragraph 100 of the Chamber judgment). Consequently, any questions relating to anonymity on the Internet and the identification of authors, as examined by the Court in the case of Delfi AS (cited above, §§ 147-51), do not arise in the present case. 204. Lastly, it further notes that, but for some very rare exceptions (see paragraphs 55 and 57-59 above), international law materials do not address the question whether authors should be prosecuted rather than intermediaries, in particular where the latter are not professional entities in the digital services field engaged in an Internet-based activity for commercial gain, but individuals such as the present applicant who use social networks or other types of online fora on which third-party comments can be posted. (iv) Consequences of the domestic proceedings for the applicant 205. The Court would first observe that, even in the case of civil-law measures, the attribution of liability for third-party comments may have negative consequences for the comment area of an online portal and may have a chilling effect on freedom of expression on the Internet (see Magyar Tartalomszolgáltatók Egyesülete and Index.hu Zrt, cited above, § 86, and Pihl, cited above, § 35), an effect which may be particularly https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2023/418.html 77/100