Facebook has claimed that it is impossible to monitor racist language in all posts made on its site. Attorneys for the company made the claim during a German lawsuit relating to the use of a photograph of Syrian refugee, Anas Modamani, in fake news stories. Facebook is so far opposed to paying out damages in the case, but it's open to a court-offered proposal that would settle the case by blocking use of the photo in question (of Modamani taking a selfie with German Chancellor Angela Merkel) across Europe. Modamani’s lawyers argue that Facebook could combat racism with the same vigour with which it is believed to counter nudity. A compromise could see Facebook, which has opposed paying damages, accept a court proposal to block the photograph in question. The case against Google was brought by two groups who said they had been discriminated against because their names were not included among those appearing as “friends” when people searched for them online.
Facebook has claimed that it is impossible to monitor racist language in all posts made on its site. Attorneys for the company made the claim during a German lawsuit relating to the use of a photograph of Syrian refugee, Anas Modamani, in fake news stories. Modamani’s lawyers argue that Facebook could combat racism with the same vigour with which it is believed to counter nudity. A compromise could see Facebook, which has opposed paying damages, accept a court proposal to block the photograph in question. The case against Google was brought by two groups who said they had been discriminated against because their names were not included among those appearing as “friends” when people searched for them online.