Citizens in Europe who break new “hate speech” rules on the internet, including those who spread conspiracy theories online, will be forced to attend ‘reeducation camps’.

According to section 7 of the European Framework National Statute For The Promotion Of Tolerance:

Juveniles convicted of committing crimes listed in paragraph (a) will be required to undergo a rehabilitation programme designed to instill in them a culture of tolerance.

The full section reads:

Section 7. Penal Sanctions

(a) The following acts will be regarded as criminal offences punishable as aggravated crimes:

(i) Hate crimes as defined in Section 1(c).

(ii) Incitement to violence against a group as defined in Section 1(a).

(iii) Group libel as defined in Section 1(b).

(iv) Overt approval of a totalitarian ideology, xenophobia or anti-Semitism.

(v) Public approval or denial of the Holocaust.

(vi) Public approval or denial of any other act of genocide the existence of which has been determined by an international criminal court or tribunal.

(b)Juveniles convicted of committing crimes listed in paragraph (a) will be required to undergo a rehabilitation programme designed to instill in them a culture of tolerance.

(iv) Overt approval of a totalitarian ideology, xenophobia or anti-Semitism.

(v) Public approval or denial of the Holocaust.

News of the reeducation camps comes after U.S. internet giants Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Microsoft promised to tackle online counter-narratives and hate speech as part of a joint commitment with the EU Commission.

Bloomberg.com reports:

Beyond national laws that criminalize hate speech, there is a need to ensure such activity by Internet users is “expeditiously reviewed by online intermediaries and social media platforms, upon receipt of a valid notification, in an appropriate time-frame,” the companies and the European Commission said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

A French Jewish youth group, UEJF, sued Twitter, Facebook and Google in Paris this month over how they monitor hate speech on the web.

In the course of about six weeks in April and May, members of French anti-discrimination groups flagged unambiguous hate speech that they said promoted racism, homophobia or anti-Semitism.

More than 90 percent of the posts pointed out to Twitter and YouTube remained online within 15 days on average following requests for removal, according to the study by UEJF, SOS Racism and SOS Homophobia.