프랑스의 인터넷상 혐오표현 및 불법정보 규제에 대한 헌법적 검토

Abstract

France's Hate Speech on the Internet Act introduced different regulatory mechanisms depending on the nature of the information, and provided for imprisonment or fines for information intermediary service providers who violated their obligations under the Hate Speech on the Internet Act.
 In an Ex ante review of the France's Hate Speech on the Internet Act, the French Constitutional Court found that the main provisions of the law violated the right to freedom of expression under the French Constitution. First, the French Constitutional Court found that the restrictions on terrorist or child pornography content violated the right to freedom of expression and communication because the illegality of the content in question was based solely on the judgment of the administrative authority, and because the restrictions could lead to the removal of legitimate content by targeting controversial content. In addition, the French Constitutional Court noted that the law's procedure for identifying illegal information is based solely on reports from internet users, and that internet platform operators face the difficult problem of assessing the content reported against the full range of offenses provided for in the law against hate speech on the internet, In particular, in the case of media crimes, the context of the content in question must be taken into account, and the 24 hours allotted for reviewing the reported content is too short, resulting in internet platform operators choosing to remove the reported content, which violates the right to freedom of expression and communication.
 In the context of recent national legislation to combat hate speech and illegal information on the Internet, the French Constitutional Court's decision and the process of enacting the French Law Against Hate Speech on the Internet may be of interest.