Earlier this month, a French Jewish youth group known as UEJF filed a lawsuit accusing Facebook, Twitter, and Google of failing to adequately monitor online hate speech.
"We want answers on how much is invested into moderation and how it’s done – that’s why we’re going forward with this civil procedure," said Stephane Lilti, a lawyer for UEJF, according to Bloomberg.
"I think there isn’t enough money put in and the moderators aren’t necessarily prepared appropriately for the challenge."
The tech companies appear to agree. In a joint statement published by Facebook, Twitter, Google, Microsoft, and the European Commission on Tuesday, the tech community vowed to ensure that internet-user activity is "expeditiously reviewed by online intermediaries and social media platforms, upon receipt of a valid notification, in an appropriate time-frame."
The new strategy will involve establishing improved internal procedures and hiring additional staff to ensure that material that targets individuals based on race, religion, or ethnic origin, is removed within 24 hours of posting.
"We remain committed to letting the Tweets flow," said Karen White, Twitter’s head of public policy for Europe, in a statement. "However, there is a clear distinction between freedom of expression and conduct that incites violence and hate."
Facebook’s Monika Bickert, head of global policy management for the company, stated that, "There’s no place for hate speech," on the social media platform.
"With a global community of 1.6 billion people we work hard to balance giving people the power to express themselves whilst ensuring we provide a respectful environment."
Working in conjunction with the EU, tech companies will rely on the cooperation of civil society organizations to deliver "anti-hate campaigns."
"The internet is a place for free speech, not hate speech," said EU commissioner Vera Jourova.
