Facebook will give authorities the data of users suspected of hate crimes

For a while now, we have to be careful – very careful – with what we say and do in social networks. Especially those who did not have it before, because they do not have it in real life either, beyond platforms like Facebook or YouTube.

It has been a few years since this type of services fight against false news, but also against those who commit hate crimes through networks and hiding in the impunity that until now had been given by this type of platform. Now Facebook has explained that it will give the authorities, whenever they consider it necessary, the data of those users who are suspected of having committed hate crimes.

This will happen in France. At least for now. The company has just signed an agreement with the French government to deliver the identity of those users about those who are suspected of publishing discourses that encourage hatred towards other groups through Facebook.

The gesture is part of the campaign to fight against false news and misuse by some users of the platform, publishing inappropriate content and that may harm others. Between October 2018 and March 2019, Facebook came to eliminate more than 3,000 million false accounts. It is estimated, in addition, that 5% of the accounts that are opened a month are also fraudulent.

Facebook and the fight against terrorism in France

France has been, in recent years, the scene of many terrorist attacks. That is why the French president, Emmanuel Macron and the president of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, have agreed that those responsible for the social network give French authorities information on identities and IP addresses of those users who are suspected of terrorist activity.

Next, the parties agreed to do the same with those that are suspected of committing hate crimes and encouraging this type of speech through the platform.

In reality, all requests for the delivery of personal data about users will have to be made by the government of the nation. And from there, it will be Facebook the one that studies if it is convenient or not to provide the data. Here will enter factors such as, for example, the volume of the request, if the protection of the human rights of the people is guaranteed or if the request in question is legally inconsistent.

Facebook continues to improve technologies to detect them

Users who use social networks and, logically, Facebook, to make publications that encourage some kind of hate speech have to be hunted. And for this reason, the social network is working intensively with advanced technologies, such as, for example, artificial intelligence, which allows them to detect in advance any type of anomalous behavior.

Fighting against this is really complicated and Facebook professionals are aware of the challenge they face. They consider, however, that new technologies can help locate any publication of these characteristics, which can help quickly detect users who are making them public and who, therefore, have a greater chance of committing crimes in real life related to what they promote on the networks.

Other news about … Facebook