JK Rowling, Elon Musk, and The French Hate Speech Office: Imane Khelif lawsuit

[Janice Rael]

via "inside the magic dot net" (who quoted Variety):

J.K. Rowling Could Lose ‘Harry Potter’ Rights, Face Prison Time in New Lawsuit​

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Jess Colopy

I can't copypaste the entire article, please click the link to read the whole story in depth. Here are some relevant quotes for this thread and OP.

PEANUT GALLERY! Let's go, this is going to be really wild!

J.K. Rowling could face prison time after being named in a cyberbullying lawsuit filed by Algerian boxer Imane Khelif. Some of Rowling’s opponents have encouraged the Olympic Gold Medalist to sue the author specifically for the rights to the “Harry Potter” series.

The next paragraph provides a scathing zinger to drive home the message that author JK Rowling literally obscures and denies her own gender, for money:

Rowling’s online tirade against Khelif began as part of a years-long spiral into the rabbit hole of transphobia on X (formerly Twitter). The author, sometimes known as Robert Galbraith, is a lifelong feminist advocate who evolved into a trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) over the last few years.

tee hee hee~!

On Tuesday, Variety broke the news that Khelif filed a cyberbullying lawsuit with the anti-online hatred center of the Paris Prosecutor’s Office (National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred). The criminal complaint specifically names J.K. Rowling and X owner/Tesla founder Elon Musk.

“On Aug. 13, (The National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred) contacted the OCLCH (Central Office for the Fight Against Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes) to conduct an investigation into the counts of cyber harassment due to gender, public insult because of gender, public incitement to discrimination and public insult because of origin,” the Paris Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement to Variety.

omg I had no idea that such an office or law existed, certainly not in France! Oh, maybe I should go back to reading France 24. Anyway, this lawsuit is really wide-reaching, I can't imagine what kind of legal teeth it may really have.

But everyone's favorite Elongated Muskrat, Elon "X-ing Out His Dad's Name" Musk is also named in the lawsuit, as is his platform, TwitterX. Guess who else? Only our Stable Genius himself!

Khelif filed the lawsuit against X, meaning it was filed against “unknown persons” under French law. This allows prosecutors to investigate anyone on the social media platform who published hateful rhetoric against Khelif, even those writing under faceless, anonymous accounts.

J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk were named specifically in the lawsuit as examples of those spreading hate against Khelif, but they’re among thousands of users that prosecutors will investigate.

Nabil Boudi, Khelif’s French attorney, added that former United States President Donald Trump will be among the many investigated by authorities.

Please be true, please be true!!

OH it gets better, look:

Even though the lawsuit was filed in France, it could target overseas personalities. Many countries, including the United States, operate versions of the French anti-hate speech office with existing agreements with France.

“The prosecutor’s office for combating online hate speech has the possibility to make requests for mutual legal assistance with other countries,” Boudi said.

The investigation could target anyone who posted hate speech about Khelif, even those who retracted their comments or personally apologized. The lawsuit is aimed at anyone who harassed Khelif, not the social media platform itself. In serious cases, those found guilty could face prison time.

There is more at the link.

I am wiped out from making this OP, does anyone else want to read and quote the Variety article?

What are your (plural You, y'all) thoughts on this case? I put the thread in MEDIA because I would hope to have a more humorous than serious take on what is actually a very serious hate crime that has resulted in harm. Yeah, it's deadly serious. But, pfffff, for those of us who have free speech rights, it is kind of funny to see the haters hoisted by their own petard.

I sure hope to see the mystery of JK and Her Hate Speech solved by this suit!

PS, mods, please don't move this thread to Politics.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

You know, with misinformation so prevalent, I had presumed this story was false. But apparently it isn't. .

The significance is apparently null:

However, a prominent French legal blogger wrote on X that it is unlikely Mr Musk or Ms Rowling would face prosecution, as French penal law doesn’t apply to acts committed outside of France against foreign nationals.