J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk have both been named in a criminal complaint filed to French authorities over alleged “acts of aggravated cyber harassment” against Algerian boxer and newl crowned Olympic champion Imane Khelif.

Nabil Boudi, the Paris-based attorney of Khelif, confirmed to Variety that both figures were mentioned in the body of the complaint, posted to the anti-online hatred center of the Paris public prosecutor’s office on Friday.

The lawsuit was filed against X, which under French law means that it was filed against unknown persons. That “ensure[s] that the ‘prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people,” including those who may have written hateful messages under pseudonyms, said Boudi. The complaint nevertheless mentions famously controversial figures.

  • FatherGascown@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Honestly, the French can go suck a baguette. The fact that something like this can be done for internet speech is just ridiculous, and I don’t even like either Rowling nor Musk.

    • theilleists@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      So we all agree there are exceptions to freedom of speech, like the proverbial person shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater, right? But you think incitement to violence is fine as long as you say it with a tweet instead of with your mouth? What a loophole!

    • falcunculus@jlai.lu
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      3 months ago

      You think people shouldn’t be allowed to… file lawsuits? This is all that has happened so far, there is no court decision yet.

    • LarmyOfLone@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      It IS important to stop fascist speech because fascist speech is fascist recruitment. That is why anti will fight to deny any fascist a platform.

      I recently read a book about anti-fascism What Is Fascism? An Excerpt From “Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It” | Truthout and it’s very enlightening to read the theory. Highly recommend. These folks have battled fascism for a 100 years and laws and governments are rarely any help. There is “liberal antifa” and for example sued the KKK out of existence and it includes using laws to sue fascists like Rowlings and Musk.

      Otherwise there are only the streets.

      So how should a civilized society deal with vile speech amplified and magnified that works to bringing and end to civilized society?

    • Dasus@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      You don’t think there’s any real danger in fascist rhetoric?

      Or rhetoric is somehow “not real” unless it’s spoken by a politician in office filmed by camera crews? Which you probably would see on the internet