(Bloomberg) — Twitter Inc.’s French arm was cleared of accusations it obstructed a probe to uncover the author of a tweet accusing a public official of being a Nazi.
The Versailles criminal court on Monday dismissed the case against Twitter France and its country manager.
In court, the Twitter executive had argued that the French unit wasn’t in a position to aid the probe as it doesn’t store data, according to Agence France-Presse. Twitter suggested that the request should instead have been sent to its European headquarters in Ireland.
“I’m pleased with this ruling which clears Damien Viel and Twitter France of all accusations against them,” their lawyer, Karim Beylouni, told reporters, referring to the country manager.
It’s the second time in recent months that Twitter has faced French court action over how it combats hate speech on its platform. In January, Twitter was ordered by the Paris court of appeals to give precise details on the resources and staff dedicated to that task.
(Updates with comment from Twitter France’s lawyer in third paragraph)
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