Marco Buschmann (FDP), Federal Minister of Justice (Photo by Carsten Koall/picture alliance via ... [+]
Germany's Federal Office of Justice (BfJ) has launched proceedings against Twitter, claiming the company has failed to deal adequately with illegal content.
Under the country's Network Enforcement Act, or NetzDG, social media companies with more than two million registered users in Germany are required to respond to user reports of prohibited content and take action to remove it.
This must be done within 24 hours in the case of ‘‘clearly illegal’’material, and within a week if the content is less clearly against the law.
Illegal content includes hate speech, personal threats, defamation and antisemitism.
"The provider of Twitter is subject to the provisions of the NetzDG. The BfJ has sufficient indications that it has violated the legal obligation to deal with complaints about illegal content and that this is a systemic failure in the complaint management of the provider, which is subject to a fine," says the BfJ in a statement.
"Numerous content was reported to the BfJ that was published on Twitter, which the authority considers illegal and, despite user complaints, was not deleted or blocked by the provider within the legally stipulated periods. The fine proceedings initiated are based on this."
The content concerned, says the BfJ, was posted over a four-month period, and related to one individual, with ‘‘similar, unjustified, defamatory statements of opinion.’’ The name of the person concerned hasn't been made public.
While no fines have yet been issued under the act, the threat of action has been enough to force companies to act in the past.
And while Elon Musk has repeatedly said that Twitter will abide by local laws, its content moderation has been decidedly shaky in recent months, with Musk having cut the number of staff it has working on content moderation and dealing with hate speech and harassment.
Twitter is also already facing a lawsuit in Germany over its content moderation practices, brought by digital rights campaign group HateAid and the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS). They are claiming that the company has failed to remove six pieces of content reported for antisemitism, and which trivialize or deny the Holocaust. Twitter's refusal to remove all the content, they say, violates its own policies on antisemitism.
Meanwhile, the EU is believed to have warned Twitter that it needs to hire more content moderation staff if it is to comply with the upcoming Digital Services Act, due to come into force next year.
The BfJ says it is giving Twitter the chance to respond to its complaints and will consider its response. However, if it comes to the conclusion that the allegations are justified, it will apply to the Bonn District Court to start proceedings. Failure to comply with the rules can result in fines of up to €50 million.
"The BfJ has sufficient evidence that Twitter has violated the legal obligation to deal with complaints about illegal content," says Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann.
"The internet is not a legal vacuum. Platforms must not simply accept it when their services are misused to disseminate criminal content."
