Germany proposes big fines for social media hate speech

Nieuws Breedband Duitsland 5 APR 2017
Germany proposes big fines for social media hate speech
The German federal government has approved draft legislation aimed at cracking down on offensive comments on social networks. If approved by parliament, social network sites will be required to take down criminal content within 24 hours. This includes content such as hate speech, defamation and slander, child pornography and terrorist offenses. 

The law requires the take-down of such material when it is clearly criminal within 24 hours, while more questionable content may be taken down within seven days of receiving a complaint. Failure to do so can result in fines of up to EUR 5 million for responsible managers and EUR 50 million for companies. 

The government said the legislation should push social media companies to make it easier for users to file complaints about offensive comments and result in them taking a more pro-active approach to removing the material. Critics have said the deadlines and fines are not reasonable and could see sites removing too much content, limiting free speech. 

Categories:

Internet

Countries:

Duitsland

Tags:

Messaging, Portals / social media, Information services, Advertising services, Legislation - Lawsuits

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