Bill against online hate

Bill against online hate - France's parliament has approved a bill aimed at fighting online hate which will oblige platforms and search engines to remove prohibited content within just one hour starting July 1st.

The one-hour deadline applies to content that French authorities consider to be related to terrorism or child sexual abuse.

Lawmakers adopted the proposed legislation which had been submitted by French President Emmanuel Macron's LREM party, the law allows for fines of up to 1.25 million euros.

It targets texts, pictures, videos and web pages that incite hatred or violence, or that carry insults of a racist or religious nature. But critics say the new law could restrict freedom of expression.