Previous 43 / 99 Next

29/09/2023, 12:35 SANCHEZ v. FRANCE - 45581/15 (Judgment : No Article 10 - Freedom of expression-{general} : Grand Chamber) [2023] ECHR 418 (1… or intermediary service providers as forming the basis for attribution of such liability. In the other twenty‑eight member States in question there are no explicit legal provisions, regulations or judicial practice expressly dealing with this question. Thus, there does not always seem to be room for the attribution of any form of liability in that context. On the other hand, in some other countries such liability may, in theory, be imposed either with reference to general provisions of civil, administrative or criminal law, or on the basis of more specific provisions relating to the duties and obligations of Internet hosts or intermediary service providers. It should nevertheless be borne in mind that such situations remain hypothetical, given that they have so far never arisen in practice. 80. As regards “hate speech”, although, as such, this concept is defined in the legislation of only three of the member States surveyed (Albania, Montenegro and Serbia), the others also prohibit and penalise certain forms of expression, including “incitement to hatred”. Specific elements need to be present in order for expression of hatred to be punishable. In particular, it has to be made in public; to be directed against a group (or a person belonging to that group) with protected characteristics; to be intentional; and to reach a certain level of seriousness or to be capable of harmful consequences. III. TERMS OF USE OF SOCIAL NETWORK FACEBOOK 81. At the relevant time a “Statement of rights and responsibilities” governed Facebook’s relations with its users, who were deemed to agree to it upon accessing the network. It provided in particular as follows in point 2.4: “when you publish content or information using the Public setting, it means that you are allowing everyone, including people off of Facebook, to access and use that information and to associate it with you (i.e. your name and profile picture)”. The statement also contained a provision on “hateful” content (replaced by “hate speech”, then “hateful speech” on subsequent amendment - cf. Part III, point 12 “Hate Speech”, in the latest version of “Facebook Community Standards”). 82. In addition, there was no legal provision requiring the holder of a personal account on a social network to set up any automatic filtering of comments posted by others and the practical possibility of prior content moderation on Facebook did not yet exist at the relevant time. However, Facebook has since enabled the administrators of its pages to implement prior and subsequent moderation of content posted by third parties. https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2023/418.html 44/100

Select target paragraph3

● ● ●

Sanchez v. France (GC)

Case Law

Country

France

Country Location

Latitude: 46.808568018841505

Longitude: 2.799314618110868

Country Location (linked Case Law): France

Decision Date: May 15, 2023

Case Status: Closed

Case Outcome (Procedural)

Dismissed
Inadmissible
Motion Denied

Case Outcome (Disposition)

Judgment in Favor of Defendant/ Acquittal

Keywords

Access to Information
Content Regulation / Censorship
Digital Rights

Judicial Body: European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)

Court Name: European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)

Case Number: 45581/15

Case Summary: The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) dismissed the application brought by Mr Julien Sanchez against France for an alleged violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by reason of the criminal conviction imposed on him by France—after he failed to remove hateful comments on his Facebook “wall”. Mr Sanchez, a politician in France and a candidate in the legislative elections, had been fined—in a criminal procedure—by French courts for failing to remove from his Facebook wall comments made by third parties that were discriminatory and incited hatred or violence against the Muslim community. The applicant argued that the fine violated his right to freedom of expression by requiring him to bear the disproportionate burden of monitoring all comments posted at any time by other users on his open and public Facebook wall. Mr Sanchez applied to the European Court of Human Rights alleging a violation of Article 10. The Fifth Section of the European Court of Human Rights held that Mr Sanchez's conviction, for failing to promptly remove unlawful comments posted by third parties on the public wall of his Facebook account, did not violate his rights under Article 10 of the ECHR. The Fifth Section of the Court held that the comments were manifestly unlawful because they discriminated against the Muslim community and that the sentence imposed by the French courts penalized him for his lack of control over a communication service open to the public which he had created on his own initiative. In that regard, it stressed that Mr Sanchez, as the owner of the wall of his Facebook account, had specific obligations to monitor and remove hateful comments. Finally, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights held —in a 13-4 votation— that Article 10 of the Convention had not been violated because, although France had interfered with the applicant’s freedom of expression, the interference was lawful and necessary in a democratic society and pursued a legitimate aim. The Grand Chamber held that it was not disproportionate to attribute shared liability—in varying degrees —to all the actors involved, including Mr Sanchez in his capacity as owner of the Facebook wall, for failing to take action in relation to the discriminatory comments. The ECtHR highlighted that the duty to act reasonably, in light of the circumstances, was greater for the applicant in his capacity as a politician, and that Mr Sanchez was aware of the controversial comments posted on his social network.

Case Significance: The decision establishes a binding or persuasive precedent within its jurisdiction.

Related Caselaw (self)

Source URL: Global Freedom of Expression

Collection

CIPIT

Date Updated: Sep 29, 2023

Primary Documents

SANCHEZ v. FRANCE - 45581_15 (Judgment _ No Article 10 - Freedom of expression-{general} _ Grand Chamber) [2023] ECHR 418 (15 May 2023).pdf
English
Download View

CYRILLA: Global Digital Rights Law

Select target paragraph3

Sanchez v. France (GC)

Primary Documents

Notifications