Facebook was sued by Reporters without Borders for its practices regarding disinformation
The press freedom not-for-profit Reporters without Borders filed a new lawsuit against Facebook on the grounds of “deceptive commercial practices”. Reporters without Borders claim that while the company’s terms of service warrant the users a safe environment, it has proven that disinformation and hate speech flourish on the platform. Deceptive business practices under EU law are punishable by two years’ imprisonment and a fine that can be as high as 10% of average annual turnover, for larger companies. Given that Facebook earned $86 billion dollars in 2020, it could be fined up to $8.6 billion dollars. The lawsuit has been filed in France and mentions the French and Irish divisions of Facebook.