Facebook has been ordered to take down hateful posts by a fake profile in a landmark ruling in Austria which could create a precedent for thousands of other cases around the world.

The Green Party in Austria had launched a court action against Facebook Ireland Limited because of online comments made against Green MP Eva Glawischnig, 47.

The fake Facebook user by the name of Michaela Jaskova had described the MP in April this year as a "rotten traitor" and a "corrupt tramp".

Despite multiple requests to Facebook, the post was not deleted. The Greens resorted to the Commercial Court of Vienna which landed the judgment.

According to Austrian press reports, media lawyer Maria Windhager explained that the decision shows that Facebook, which normally relies on its own automated community standards and terms and conditions, cannot escape the Austrian legal situation.

Facebook normally quotes Californian law, where the head office is based, which is not as stringent as Europe's defamation laws.

The Greens are already planning further legal steps stating that the posts were not deleted, but only blocked for Austrian users. They have said this is not enough as it remains visible to the rest of the world.

Facebook has been under constant attack for turning a blind eye to hateful posts as well as disseminating false news.

 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.