Weekly News 30



Tough new German law puts tech firms and free speech in spotlight

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/05/tough-new-german-law-puts-tech-firms-and-free-speech-in-spotlight
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Key Data/ Statistical Info

  • US social media companies have scaled up operations in Germany, where a controversial new law has turned the country into a testbed for whether tech firms can be relied on to tell the difference between free speech and hate speech.
  • Facebook and Twitter have fitted their German websites with additional features for flagging up controversial content, and spent months hiring and training moderators to cope with the Network Enforcement Act, which came into full effect on 1 January 2018.
  • Under the law, known in Germany as “NetzDG”, online platforms face fines of up to €50m (£44m) if they do not remove “obviously illegal” hate speech and other postings within 24 hours of receiving a notification. A seven-day period is granted for removal of “illegal” content.
  • Figures on how the law has affected the number of deletions won’t be published until June. Last summer, Facebook carried out an average of 15,000 deletions in Germany each month.

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