Facebook and Twitter could face £40m fines for not removing hate speech
European Jewish leader welcomes proposal to penalise social media sites up to £43 million for failing to tackle hate
Germany’s justice minister has proposed fines of up to 50 million euro (£43.8 million) for social networking sites that fail to swiftly remove illegal content, such as hate speech or defamatory “fake news”.
The plan marks a further step in Germany’s attempt to impose its strict domestic laws against incitement on the free-wheeling world of online chatter.
Justice minister Heiko Maas, a member of the centre-left Social Democratic Party, said social media companies had already taken voluntary steps to crack down on hate crimes that have resulted in improvements.
“This isn’t sufficient yet,” Mr Maas said, citing research that he said showed Twitter deletes just 1% of illegal content flagged by users, while Facebook deletes 39%.
The proposal would require companies to provide a round-the-clock service for users to flag illegal content, which would have to be removed by the site within seven days.
Robert Singer, the chief executive of the World Jewish Congress, praised the Maas proposal.
“The internet is awash with hateful content, a lot of which is incitement to hatred and violence. Currently, it often takes providers far too long to remove or block such content,” he said.
“It’s important that the internet companies and politicians take this problem seriously, and we commend Germany for taking the lead on this.”
The Community Security Trust said: “We have repeatedly urged social media companies to ensure that their understanding of hate speech meets the expectations of their users, because the failure to remove blatantly antisemitic content like this video gives the damaging message that antisemitism is welcome on their platforms. We will continue to work with all the platforms to help them improve their understanding of antisemitism and their processes for identifying and removing it.”
The proposal will not affect media outlets already covered by other German laws, said Philip Scholz, a justice ministry spokesman.
A bill could go before politicians ahead of Germany’s general election in September, though such a timetable was “ambitious”, he said.
All copies of the content would also have to be deleted and social media companies would need to publish a quarterly report detailing how they have dealt with such material.
Sites would also have to nominate a person responsible for handling complaints, who could face fines of up to five million euro (£4.3 million) personally if the company fails to abide by mandatory standards.
Mr Maas said the measures, which will become part of a bill to be put before parliament, would not restrict freedom of speech that already exists in Germany and there were no plans to create a “truth commission” against so-called fake news.
But he noted that fake news could constitute illegal content “if it constitutes slander, defamation or libel”.
Facebook said it would examine the proposal.
“We have clear rules against hate speech and are working hard to remove such content from our platform,” the company said in a statement, adding it was working with the government to tackle the issue.
However, Facebook said tests it commissioned showed higher rates of removal than those cited by Mr Maas.
Facebook also said it had taken measures to train staff in how to deal with the legal situation in Germany and expects to have 700 people in Berlin examining flagged content by the end of the year.
Twitter declined to comment directly on the proposal, but noted that it had taken a number of measures in recent months designed to prevent abuse and allow users to filter unwanted content.
Germany poses a particular problem for US-owned social networking sites accustomed to American standards of free speech.
Due to its Nazi past, Germany bans public Holocaust denial and any overt promotion of racism.
The issue has come to the fore amid the recent influx of migrants to Germany, which has sparked a backlash among some Germans, including a rise in online vitriol.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
