Following the lead of France, which announced earlier this year that it would fine companies that don’t remove hate speech promptly, Germany is now following suit. According to reports, social media companies operating in Germany will face fines of up to 50 million euros if they don’t take swift action against hateful content and fake news.
While the intention of these policies may be laudable – to create a safe environment for all Germans – it’s important to remember that technology can never completely eradicate hate speech. Human beings are still involved in the process of creating content, and as such, mistakes will inevitably be made. Whether these mistakes are deliberate attempts to sow discord or simply oversights, they must be addressed in order for these policies to have any meaningful impact.
Germany to fine social media companies that don’t delete hate speech
Germany plans to fine social media companies that don’t remove hate speech within 24 hours, according to a report from the Associated Press. The proposal comes from the Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who says that social media platforms are “too slow” in removing content that violates Germany’s hate speech laws.
Seehofer says that Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms have not done enough to take down Nazi and other extremist content. He also cited a recent case in which a neo-Nazi group was able to hold a rally in Berlin using Facebook as a platform.
The proposal has been met with criticism from rights groups, who say that it will only further restrict free speech on social media. Facebook has already announced plans to launch an automated system to identify and remove hate speech across its platforms.
Why Germany is making this announcement
Germany is making this announcement because they feel that social media companies are not doing enough to delete hate speech. They say that this type of speech is not only damaging to individuals, but also to the country as a whole. Germany is hoping that this announcement will encourage social media companies to take more action in removing hate speech from their platforms.