Google, Meta Platforms and TikTok Win Legal Case in European High Court  regarding Hate Speech

Google, obtains support from Europe's top court (photo: doc. pexels)

JAKARTA - Google's parent Alphabet, Meta Platforms Inc., and TikTok on Thursday 9 November received support from Europe's top court in their fight against an Austrian law requiring them to remove hate speech content or face fines of up to US$ 10.69 million (IDR 167.2 billion ).

This Austrian law, which was passed in 2021 and requires Big Tech to regularly report illegal content, comes as concerns grow around the world about hateful posts.

Recently, the European Union adopted new regulations called the Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires large online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful online content or face fines of up to 6% of their annual turnover.

Google, Meta, and TikTok challenged the Austrian law in an Austrian court, saying it goes against EU rules that state that online service providers are subject only to the rules of the country in which they operate, while the country in which they provide services must refrain from implementing their law.

The three companies, which have their European headquarters in Ireland, claim they are subject only to Irish rules. The Austrian court then sought advice from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which sided with the companies.

"A member state may not subject a communications platform provider based in another member state to general and abstract obligations," the judges said.

"Such a national approach is contrary to EU law, which ensures the free movement of information society services through the principle of control in the Member State of origin of the service in question," they said.

Google welcomed the ruling. "We are pleased that today's decision reinforces the importance of the EU's country of origin principle. We will study the ruling and continue to invest in user trust and security on our platform," a Google spokesperson said.

Meta and TikTok did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Thursday's ruling cannot be appealed.