EU commissioner cancels Facebook account over hate speech

The EU’s commissioner for gender equality and consumer rights, Vera Jourova told journalists she had deleted her Facebook account in protest against hate speech.

Jourova described the social network as "a highway for hatred“ and said she had herself been targeted by trolls.

Despite her harsh characterization of Facebook, Jourova said the EU was giving the social media companies a chance to prove that they can regulate their own conduct.

She said living behind the Iron Curtain in what was then Czechoslovakia made her loth to bring forward cross-EU legislation and introduce fines.