Irish Facebook office ‘fails to stop hate speech’

Laura Boldrini, an Italian politician, is often subjected to abuse on Facebook. She said it had to “take responsibility”
Laura Boldrini, an Italian politician, is often subjected to abuse on Facebook. She said it had to “take responsibility”
REMO CASILLI/REUTERS

An Italian politician has criticised Facebook’s Irish office after she was called a “handicapped whore” and a terrorist on the site.

Laura Boldrini, the Speaker of the lower house in Italy’s parliament, has questioned the company’s handling of abuse after Facebook told her that its regional headquarters in Ireland dealt with all European complaints, but did not say how many Italian speakers were based in this country.

Ms Boldrini, 55, has called on Facebook to stamp out hate speech on its site. She met managers in November and proposed several solutions. One of her requests was for Facebook to open a full office in Italy to deal with its 28 million Italian users.

“Two months after our meeting, they have done nothing. They have not