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A new law has come into force in Germany aimed at regulating social media platforms to ensure they remove hate speech within set periods of receiving complaints \u2014 within 24 hours in straightforward cases or within seven days where evaluation of content is more difficult.<\/p>\n
The name of the law translates to \u2018Enforcement on Social Networks\u2019. It\u2019s also referred to as NetzDG, an abbreviation of its full German name.<\/p>\n
Fines of up to\u00a0\u20ac50 million can be applied under the law if social media platforms fail to comply, though as\u00a0Spiegal Online<\/a> reports there is a transition period for companies to gear up for compliance \u2014 which will end on January 1, 2018. However the Ministry in charge has started inspections this month.<\/p>\n Social platform giants such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter were couched as the initial targets for the law, but Spiegal Online suggests the government is looking to apply the law more widely \u2014 including to content on\u00a0networks such as Reddit, Tumblr, Flickr, Vimeo, VK and Gab.<\/p>\n The usage bar for complying with the takedown timeframes is being set at a service having more than two million registered users in Germany.<\/p>\n While Spiegal Online reports that the German government is intending to have 50 people assigned to the task of implementing and policing the law.<\/p>\n It also says all social media platforms, regardless of size, must provide a contact person in Germany for user complaints or requests for information from investigators. Recent\u00a0queries will need to be answered within 48 hours or risk\u00a0penalties, it adds.<\/p>\n One obvious question here is how any fines could be applied across international borders if a social media firm has no bricks-and-mortar presence in Germany, though.<\/p>\n The law does also require social media firms operating in Germany to appoint a contact person in the country. But again, those companies that are outside Germany may be rather hard to police \u2014 unless the government intends to start trying to block access to non-compliance services which would only invite further controversy.<\/p>\n The Germany cabinet backed the proposal for the law back in April<\/a>. At the time, justice minister Heiko Maas said: \u201cFreedom of expression ends where criminal law begins.\u201d<\/p>\n The country has specific\u00a0hate speech laws<\/a>\u00a0which criminalize certain types of speech, such as incitement to racial and religious violence, and the NetzDG law cites sections of the existing\u00a0German Criminal Code\u00a0<\/a>\u2014 applying itself specifically to social media platforms.<\/p>\n Germany not alone in Europe at seeking to clamp down on illegal content being spread and amplified via social media, either.<\/p>\n The UK has also been active recently in leading a push by several G7 nations against online extremism \u2014 with the apparent aim of reducing takedown times for this type of content to an average of just two hours<\/a>.<\/p>\n Germany has\u00a0also been pushing for a European Union wide response to tackling the spread of hate speech across online platforms.<\/p>\n