French Jewish students are to sue Twitter for £32m for failing to release the identities of users who posted pictures of ashes and made Holocaust jokes and death threats under the hashtag #UnBonJuif (a good Jew).
The Union of Jewish French Students are suing the social network in a lawsuit filed with a Paris correctional tribunal, for failing to honour a court ruling to identify users who posted the anti-Semitic comments, according to AFP.
UEJF President Jonathan Hayoun told the French news agency: "Twitter is playing the indifference card and does not respect the ruling.
"They have resolved to protect the anonymity of the authors of these tweets and have made themselves accomplices to racists and anti-Semites.”
The students have said they will give any money won in the lawsuit to Holocaust charities.
Twitter argues that as an American company it is protected by the First amendment, but a French court ruled on January 24 that Twitter must identify those who tweeted, and that the internet users who posted from France are subject to the country's hate speech laws.
The hashtag #UnBonJuif was the third highest trending topic on the French site for a period last year.
"A Good Jew can inflate his tire with his nose," twitter user @TheCreamBeats wrote, according to a HuffPost translation.
One described a good Jew as "cooked medium rare" and another just posted a picture of dust in a dustpan.
The company's policies require international users to comply with local laws regarding online conduct and acceptable content.