Internet hatred is a big problem.
Platforms like Facebook have to take consistent action against this.
Now the BGH has spoken a word of power.
A comment.
Munich - Social networks that are wildly commented on are both a curse and a blessing.
They give space to opinions.
But hate speech is increasingly becoming a social challenge.
What Facebook regards as hatred is in its “community standards”.
Not everything that the company prohibits is punishable under German law.
Hate speech on the net: Deleting hate comments alone is not enough
So Facebook moves in a delicate area between freedom of expression, entrepreneurial freedom - and the duty not to provide breeding ground for hatred.
The motto "Better to delete too much than too little" does not go far enough.
It is extremely important to take consistent action against incitement and threats.
When it comes to investigating the perpetrators, the network giant would have to help even more - deleting alone is not enough.
The current judgment of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) teaches two things: The weighing up of what falls under freedom of expression and what does not must not be delegated to an algorithm, especially in cases of doubt, but must be the responsibility of experts and lawyers.
And: Users must be given the opportunity to have a say before their accounts are blocked.
That may lead to delays.
But it is beneficial for the acceptance of rules.
A comment from Cindy Boden
With the “Hate Speech on the Net” series from
IPPEN.MEDIA
, we illuminate the problem of hate speech from different perspectives and want to show constructive ways
of
dealing with
this socially relevant topic.
As a medium with a wide reach, an open community is important to us - but rules must be adhered to.
We have no place for hate speech.
We are part of the Bavarian initiative "Justice and the media - consistently against hate" in order to take action quickly against any comments that may be criminally relevant.