Civil rights activists and opposition politicians have slammed a recently approved amendment to Germany’s law regulating online communications, saying it encroaches on freedom of expression and fragments the European legal space. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Tabled by the German government and approved by parliament on Thursday (6 May), the amendment to the Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) claims to strengthen user rights and crack down on online hate speech.
The government says the amendment improves the 2017 law by expanding transparency obligations for social media companies and other online actors, improved user friendliness and regulated researchers’ access to social media data.
“Anyone who is threatened or insulted online must be able to report it simply and without complications,” said German Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht.
Germany: Annalena Baerbock becomes prime target of sexist hate speech
Threats against politicians have sharply risen ahead of September s general elections. The leading candidate to replace Angela Merkel has rapidly become the prime target for misogyny, vitriol, and fake news.
It s been barely three weeks since Annalena Baerbock was nominated as the Green party s chancellor candidate. But it took only a matter of hours after her nomination on April 19 for disinformation and hate about her to begin spreading like wildfire online.
Green party election campaign leader Michael Kellner says the hate and fake reports have taken on a completely new dimension.
German politics: Annalena Baerbock becomes prime target of sexist hate speech | Germany| News and in-depth reporting from Berlin and beyond | DW dw.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dw.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Switzerland ticks differently with social media laws
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg takes a grilling before the US Congress in 2018. Xinhua News Agency All Rights Reserved
Fake news, incitement to violence, conspiracy theories, censorship: social media giants have a lot of power - too much according to critics. Is it possible to make the internet a boon for democracy again? Switzerland relies on the judgment of individual users. A global comparison.
This content was published on May 6, 2021 - 09:00
May 6, 2021 - 09:00
Jonas Glatthard
Studied political science and film studies at the University of Zurich, where he discovered his passion for data analysis and international movies. He joined SWI swissinfo.ch in 2020 to work on data driven stories and visualisations.
Key Takeaways
Definition of “social media intermediaries” too broad. Exceptions for some use cases would have made great sense.
Need clarity on the 5 million threshold. How do significant social media intermediaries define “5 million users” daily or monthly active users, or registered users and so on?
5 million number is very low in India
Need consultations for an “intelligent definition” for intermediaries
Personal liability of chief compliance officer a might be too much risk for one person
Timelines for grievance redressal might be too onerous on companies
Rules might achieve opposite of curtailing platform power
Compliance burden on smaller platforms high
The Information Technology (Guidelines For Intermediaries And Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 notified earlier this year change the way the internet is governed in India. The Rules prescribe several new and onerous requirements for companies. For the first time ever, social media intermediaries have