Lawyers for the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men (IEFH) have accused X, formerly Twitter, of refusing to remove an alleged rape video from its platform, a Brussels criminal court heard on Friday.
According to the institute's legal team, the six-second video showed a woman being allegedly raped. The victim contacted the institute in autumn 2019 after the footage began circulating online.
The institute said it contacted several platforms, most of which removed the video. However, X, then operating as Twitter, allegedly failed to act despite multiple requests.
Lawyers said they submitted several take-down notices and formal complaints, including reports of copyright violations, the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, and revenge porn.
According to the institute, the company repeatedly requested proof that the lawyers were authorised to represent the victim, as well as her identity, before ultimately closing the requests without removing the video.
The lawyers said the footage was only removed following an order from an investigating judge.
"Twitter was fully aware of the illegal content on its platform and failed to remove it," lawyer Me Van Loo told the court.
However, the public prosecutor requested the company's acquittal, arguing that the video did not clearly show rape or revenge porn based on the available evidence.
The video had been submitted as evidence but has since disappeared from the case file, which X's legal team argued further weakens the prosecution's case.
The court is expected to rule at a later date.
