29/09/2023, 12:35 SANCHEZ v. FRANCE - 45581/15 (Judgment : No Article 10 - Freedom of expression-{general} : Grand Chamber) [2023] ECHR 418 (1… that, in its decision of 16 September 2011, the Constitutional Council accepted that section 93‑3 of Law no. 82-652 of 29 July 1982, in aligning the regime of liability applicable to the producer with that of the publication director, was in conformity with the Constitution (see paragraphs 40 and 133 above). 139. Consequently, the Court takes note of the interpretation of section 93-3 of Law no. 82-652 of 29 July 1982 and its application by the domestic courts, in the light of the domestic law as it stood at the material time (see paragraphs 35 et seq. above), and considers that they were neither arbitrary nor manifestly unreasonable. 140. Lastly, as to the question of the point in time from which the producer is deemed to have had knowledge of the unlawful remarks, the Court notes that section 93-3 of Law no. 82-652 of 29 July 1982 indeed remains silent (see paragraph 37 above), leaving the matter to be decided by the relevant domestic courts on a case-by-case basis. Moreover, at the material time, the domestic law did not require any prior representation by a victim vis-à-vis the producer, unlike the rule then applying to “hosts” such as Facebook (see paragraph 45 above). The Court would again point out that it is not its task to express a view on the appropriateness of methods chosen by the legislature of a respondent State to regulate a given field (see paragraph 128 above). The lack of a system of prior notification to the producer cannot therefore in itself raise a difficulty in terms of the lawfulness of the interference, regardless of any difference in relation to the regime that may be applicable to hosts (see paragraph 45 above). The Court would, moreover, reiterate that in cases where thirdparty user comments take the form of hate speech, the rights and interests of others and of society as a whole may entitle Contracting States to impose liability on the relevant Internet news portals, without contravening Article 10 of the Convention, if they fail to take measures to remove clearly unlawful comments without delay, even without notice from the alleged victim or from third parties (see Delfi AS, cited above, § 159). Even though the applicant’s situation cannot be compared to that of an Internet news portal (see paragraph 180 below), the Court sees no reason to hold otherwise in the present case. A situation entailing the judicial interpretation of principles contained in statute law will not in itself necessarily fall foul of the requirement that the law be framed in sufficiently precise terms, as the role of adjudication vested in the courts serves precisely to dissipate such interpretational doubts as remain (see paragraphs 126 et seq. above). 141. The question of the liability of a Facebook account holder, in the present case a politician during an election campaign, for remarks posted on his or her “wall”, particularly in a political and electoral context, had https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2023/418.html 58/100