Twitter Challenges German Online Reporting Rule
Social media giant Twitter has filed a lawsuit against a rule which comes into force in Germany from Tuesday and obliges social media companies to block or delete criminal content quickly and report serious offences to the police.
Twitter’s lawsuit challenges a provision under Germany’s expanded anti-hate speech rules, with the social media giant claiming that the regulations allow users’ data to be handed over to law enforcement before it is clear whether a crime has been committed.
In 2018, Germany introduced its anti-hate speech law, largely intended to combat right-wing extremism online. The law makes social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, responsible for regulating harmful content. Last summer, Facebook and Alphabet’s Google filed similar lawsuits in the country.
“We are concerned that the law provides for a significant encroachment on citizens’ fundamental rights,” a spokesperson for Twitter said.
“In particular, we are concerned that the obligation to proactively share user data with law enforcement forces private companies into the role of prosecutors by reporting users to law enforcement even when there is no illegal behaviour.”
