SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Germany imposes €50 million fines on social media firms that don’t delete hate speech

Germany's parliament voted Friday to punish social media giants with fines of up to €50 million if they systematically fail to remove illegal hate speech.

Germany imposes €50 million fines on social media firms that don't delete hate speech
Justice Minister Heiko Maas. Photo: DPA

Berlin took the measure, one of the toughest in the world, after a surge in racist and incendiary speech online, particularly since the arrival of around one million asylum-seekers since 2015.

Under German law, Holocaust denial, incitement of hatred, and racist and anti-Semitic speech are illegal.

But critics warned that the prohibitive fines would stifle legitimate free speech by prompting online giants like Twitter and Facebook to excessively delete and censor posts as a precaution.

MUST READ: How Germany's 'hate speech' law will put control of free speech in private hands

They also said it would give social networks, rather than the authorities, the power to decide which content flouts the law.

But Justice Minister Heiko Maas argued that “freedom of opinion ends where criminal law begins”.

“Death threats and insults, incitement to hate or (Holocaust denial) are not part of freedom of expression — rather, they are attacks against other people's freedom of opinion,” Maas said in a statement before the bill passed the lower house on the last day of the session.

“They are intended to intimidate and mute others,” he said.

Political pressure

Under the new law, companies like Twitter and Facebook would have 24 hours to remove posts that openly violate German law after they are flagged by users.

Offensive content that is more difficult to categorise would have to be deleted within seven days after it is reported and reviewed.

The government emphasised that the heavy fines would be imposed only if companies systematically failed to follow the new directive, and not for individual cases.

Social media companies pledged in 2015 to examine and remove within 24 hours any flagged hateful comments, but a government report in April tracking progress on this front found that not enough had been done.

“The online platforms are not taking adequate action. Our experience has clearly shown that without political pressure, the social networks will unfortunately not budge,” Maas said.

In the April report, Maas said Twitter took down just one percent of the content reported by users deemed to run afoul of Germany's anti-hate speech laws, while Facebook deleted 39 percent.

Google's YouTube video sharing platform fared far better, with a rate of 90 percent, according to a government study cited by the minister.

Beyond hate speech, the legislation also covers other illegal content, including child pornography and terror-related postings.

A civil society umbrella called Alliance for Freedom of Opinion published a statement opposing the bill.

“Service providers should not be entrusted with the government's job of deciding whether content is legal,” said the group, which includes Reporters without Borders and the federations of German startups and digital companies.

BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

SHOW COMMENTS