Twitter was ordered to pay the UFC-Que Choisir the sum of 100,000 euros. If this amount remains ridiculous for this company, the decision will have serious legal consequences. If the account is deleted, the user will be able to challenge this decision. It took nearly ten years for Twitter to be ordered to pay out €100,000 to the UFC-Que Choisir. This has been done since April 14 and by decision of the Paris Court of Appeal. Recall that the consumer protection association filed a complaint in 2014 against Twitter, Facebook and Google. The latter two were convicted and made a decision, but Twitter decided to appeal. The organization accused him of 269 offensive clauses of the general terms of use (EU). In particular, she felt that the latter were illegible and that some hypertext links led to pages in English. Obviously, Twitter has given itself the right to collect and use the personal data of Internet users without informing them properly.
Specific implications for Twitter
From prime on board, on Of course, you might think that 100,000 euros is a pittance for Twitter, and this is a fact. But craftsman François-Pierre Lany, who is associated with Derriennic, which represented the UFC-Que Choisir in this case, points out to Les Échos that previously “companies were sentenced to a symbolic fine of 1 euro” in this kind of business. The decision of the court will also have very specific legal consequences for the future. Indeed, the Terms of Use of Social Media are now equated to contracts and subject to the rules of the consumer code. Quoted by L’Usine Digitale, Mér Alexandre Lazarègue, a specialist in digital law, comments as follows: “The court emphasized that the provision of user data is a reward for a service rendered and that the contract is therefore onerous. This decision reinforces the well-known formula “when you do not see the service, you are the product! Another important element identified by our colleagues is that the court believes that deleting a Twitter account for violating the rules should now be the subject of a controversial debate. To simplify, Internet users will need to know the reasons for the decision and will be able to challenge it. Please note that this condemnation came immediately after the adoption of the Digital Services Act by the European Union. This rule forces major platforms to adopt stricter moderation rules, and they must also be accountable to their users. You can find more details in our dedicated article here.
