Germany Enforces Strict Hate Speech Law for Facebook, Twitter and Other Social Media

Last year left many scars on the psyche of active social media junkies. From 3,000 penises being seized by the FBI to old women training SWAT cats, multiple hoaxes took users on a "trollercoaster"ride.

But as it seems, 2018 will infuse some sense into this ludicrous state every bit many governments are intervening to bargain with fake news and hate voice communication.

Frg is among i of the nations resolving to eliminate hate spoken communication and fake news and has now fully enforced a special law which requires publishing websites and social media platforms to remove hate-mongering and false content. Administrators will exist required to bargain with the identified disputes within 24 hours of notification and non-compliance can lead to fines up to 50 million euros.

Characterized by a tongue-twister of a moniker, the "Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz" (NetzDG) constabulary will mainly focus on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, but information technology will besides apply to Tumblr, Reddit, and other niche social networks including Vimeo, Flickr, and Russia's VK. The High german Federal Assembly had passed the law dorsum in June and was enforced starting Oct 1, 2017. The government had granted international social networks a headway until the end of 2017 to mold their processes according to the law.

Germany Enforces Strict Hate Speech Law for Facebook, Twitter and Other Social Media — Courtesy: IBT United kingdom

The BBC reports that Facebook is beefing its workforce up by "several hundred" in Germany to contain violations of the NetzDG act more effectively.

The human action is among the toughest attacks on hateful, abusive and wrong content. Nonetheless, ane worrisome aspect of the legislation is that it grants absolute ability of decision to the Justice Ministry building of Frg, and the decisions cannot be subject to challenge or counter-litigation. While this would finish courts getting stuck in a quagmire of appeals, this restriction worryingly leaves room for abuse of the law.

Meanwhile, the British authorities is also mulling a like mensurate, with the possibility of a tax on social media platforms and search engines for failing to get rid of radicalizing content online. Tax-saving would, thus, "incentivize" companies like Facebook and Google to mitigate the impact of hateful and extremist content online.