MOSCOW, January 25 - RAPSI. A Paris court ordered Twitter Thursday to produce any information that may facilitate the identification of users that tweeted illegal content, according to a press release issued by France’s Union of Jewish Students (UEJF), the organization spearheading efforts to rid Twitter of hate speech.

UEJF president Jonathan Hayoun lauded the court’s decision as historic, and praised it for reminding victims of racism and anti-Semitism that they are not alone, and that their protection under French law applies in all spheres – Twitter included.

According to its website, the UEJF tried unsuccessfully to mediate with Twitter before turning to the court. The organization sprang into action after having observed a deluge of racist and anti-Semitic tweets. 

Twitter has remained largely silent on its reaction. When RAPSI asked for a comment Thursday, Twitter replied, "We are currently reviewing the court’s decision.” 

This is not the first time Twitter has reacted to country-specific criticism. In October, Twitter General Counsel Alex Macgillivray announced Twitter’s decision to utilize a mechanism that allows the site to block certain content within a specific country.

The attorney tweeted: “We announced the ability to withhold content back in Jan. We're using it now for the first time re: a group deemed illegal in Germany.”

He added “Never want to withhold content; good to have tools to do it narrowly and transparently.”

The account in question was run by the extremist group Besseres Hannover, which is now banned in Germany. Twitter took this action following a request from the German authorities in late September.