Germany bill imposing €50M fine for failure to remove online hate crime, fake news fast enough

Alpha1

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Germany's Cabinet has approved a new bill on curbing hate comments and fake news on social media.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet on Wednesday agreed on rules that would impose fines of up to 50 million euros (53.4 million dollars) on social networking sites that fail to swiftly remove illegal content, such as hate speech or defamatory "fake news."

German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said that companies offering such online platforms are responsible for removing hateful content.
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More: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wi...-bill-curbing-online-hate-crime-fake-46589305
German justice minister calls for hefty fines to combat online hate speech
Online firms failing to delete criminal content could face tighter penalties in Germany. Proposed legislation by Justice Minister Heiko Maas would be a landmark ruling against internet hate speech in Europe.

News
German justice minister calls for hefty fines to combat online hate speech
Online firms failing to delete criminal content could face tighter penalties in Germany. Proposed legislation by Justice Minister Heiko Maas would be a landmark ruling against internet hate speech in Europe.

Ahead of Wednesday's decisive Cabinet meeting to tackle internet hate speech, Justice Minister Heiko Maas reiterated his warning that online companies failing to delete criminal content themselves could face financial punishments of up to 50 million euros ($53 million).

"We do not accept the fact that companies in Germany do not adhere to the law. Therefore in future, if it doesn't get better, we will impose high fines on these companies," the Social Democrat (SPD) told ARD breakfast show Morgenmagazin.
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http://www.dw.com/en/german-justice...fines-to-combat-online-hate-speech/a-38300446

The UK has something similar in the works. I'm sure other EU countries will follow. This has been a long time coming.
We need better tools to let members flag abusive content and better tools for reporting and handling reports.

Related threads:
EU court: pay damages for ineffective Post Report moderation system.
Google will let users flag offensive content
 
jmurrayhead said:
This is simply laughable. Such thin-skinned people in the world these days.
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Its a reaction to elections being manipulated by fake news on social websites and companies/people getting seriously damaged from hate speech and slander. These are real issues.
These laws will have many undesirable consequences on free speech. Thin skinned people are abundant and the requests for removal of content will surely be as well.
Unfortunately it is a reality that we need to deal with and which will become increasingly important and dangerous to webmasters. Its not just multimillion fines, it now also affects your SEO.
 
Alfa1 said:
Its a reaction to elections being manipulated by fake news on social websites and companies/people getting seriously damaged from hate speech and slander. These are real issues.
These laws will have many undesirable consequences on free speech. Thin skinned people are abundant and the requests for removal of content will surely be as well.
Unfortunately it is a reality that we need to deal with and which will become increasingly important and dangerous to webmasters. Its not just multimillion fines, it now also affects your SEO.
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I definitely wasn't denying that it's a real issue. Just sad that those thin-skinned people are able to push their will into law instead of simply not visiting web sites that don't fit their mold.
 
Onwards it goes:
Facebook must remove hate speech posts, Austrian court rules
More bad news for Facebook on the content front: An Austrian court has ruled the company must remove posts deemed to be hate speech, Reuters reports.

The case was brought last year by Austria’s Green party over what it argued were defamatory insults to its leader, Eva Glawischnig, posted to Facebook by a fake account.
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But Reuters reports that the Green party intends to push for that by taking the case to the country’s highest court.

The party is also hoping to force Facebook to identify the holders of fake accounts, and to pay damages for hate speech being spread on its platform, arguing that the ability to win damages would make it easier for individuals to pursue legal action against the company, given the costs involved.
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Last month politicians in Germany voted to back proposals for a law to hit social media firms with fines of up to €50 million if they fail to promptly remove illegal hate speech from their platforms — within 24 hours after a complaint has been made for “obviously criminal content”, and within seven days for other illegal content.

This month UK MPs also called for the government to consider a similar approach there, to try to enforce better standards of content moderation on social platform giants — with signs some US lawmakers might be thinking along similar lines too, vis-a-vis terrorism content.
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https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/08/facebook-must-remove-hate-speech-posts-austrian-court-rules/
 
Germany passes law with huge fines for Internet companies that don’t bar hate speech
German legislators want hate speech removed within 24 hours.

Germany has passed a law that creates tight deadlines in which social media websites must remove hate speech. These platforms now face massive fines if they don't comply.

Within 24 hours, websites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube must remove postings of hate speech or other material that's "obviously illegal" under German law. If content has been flagged as offensive but isn't obviously illegal, it must be examined within seven days, according to a BBC report on the law.

Failure to comply could lead to fines that start at 5 million euros and range up to 50 million euros, or about $57 million.

Read more: https://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-poli...-fined-up-to-57-million-under-new-german-law/
 
This sounds a lot like nanny state policies. Revenue raising even. The sheer posts that these networks receive daily would be impossible to police to the level Germany is citing.
 
I am so tired of fake news. People are too lazy to research and determine what they want to believe. I see a darker reason to "combat" fake news.

I wonder if the hype of fake news had been around 30-50 years ago how many of the supermarket tabloids would still be around today.
 
Ah Germany...the problem is.. who will determine what is fake and what isn't and what is "hate" and what is free speech? The Merkel Gestapo? Germany has lost it's way. What's next? Scary. These tactics haven't worked so well for Germany in the past and they won't this time either. Get a grip Germany.
 
This is not just in Germany. The same thing is happening in other countries. Including the UK. I would not be surprised to see something similar in the USA.
Germany is just the first country. Certainly not the last.
 
Alfa1 said:
This is not just in Germany. The same thing is happening in other countries. Including the UK. I would not be surprised to see something similar in the USA.
Germany is just the first country. Certainly not the last.
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I think all of this stuff is actually good for this space. It will encourage decentralization, i.e. people using boards more, backed by more decentralized services like crytocurrencies, decentralized hosting, and so on. Ripe for opportunity if you ask me.
 
This law has now become effective. Social Websites were given until the end of 2017 to get their sites in order.
Germany starts enforcing hate speech law
Germany is set to start enforcing a law that demands social media sites move quickly to remove hate speech, fake news and illegal material.

Sites that do not remove "obviously illegal" posts could face fines of up to 50m euro (£44.3m).

The law gives the networks 24 hours to act after they have been told about law-breaking material.

Social networks and media sites with more than two million members will fall under the law's provisions.
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Finnigan said:
you mean NWO in many aspects. Yeah no thanks. :)
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NWO as in New World Order? As touted by fine members of the intellectual community such as Alex "Where'd My Kids Go" Jones?
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Where's the "no thanks" button to opt out of people believing crap like this?


Fillip
 
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