The justice ministers of the countries urge a more determined action against the hate crime on the Internet. The operators of social networks would have considerable responsibility in the fight against illegal hate posting and would also have to participate in the consistent prosecution, it said in a decision taken on Thursday at the so-called autumn conference.
Schleswig-Holstein's Minister of Justice Sabine Sütterlin-Waack said that companies are legally obliged to comply with prosecution requests for information "even if these companies are located abroad." The Federal Minister of Justice was asked to examine how practical difficulties in such requests for information can be remedied.
Online counseling centers for those affected
A review was also initiated as to whether the deletion obligations under the Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) could be extended to "illegitimate posts with the same wording as well as, if possible, identical content-wise unlawful posts". Background of this thrust is a judgment of the European Court of Justice in October.
The ministers' proposals also include providing more help to the victims of Hatespeech, including through new online counseling centers. The bodies should therefore inform those affected about their rights, also against the background of high legal costs and "a not inconsiderable process risk".
Hesse Justice Minister Eva Kühne-Hörmann said that hatred and hate speech on the Internet "have long since found their way into the real world": "Not only in Kassel, Wächtersbach or Halle did we have to experience how this hatred ended in real deeds."
The plan of the Federal Cabinet
Last week, in response to the Halle attack, the federal cabinet passed a nine-point plan to "use all constitutional means against hatred, right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism." The program, which was jointly presented by the Ministries of Internal Affairs, Justice and Family, is about sharper prosecution of hate speech on the Net, strengthening the investigative authorities and developing prevention work.
According to the plans, for example, social networks should be obliged to actively report criminal content to the security authorities and, if necessary, also to provide the IP address of the users.
Police operations in nine federal states
The Conference of Ministers of Justice states that they welcome the announced measures. In particular, he advocates the "introduction of a legal obligation of the social networks to report charges for criminally relevant posts, in particular concerning death threats and incitement to the people". From the point of view of the Ministers of Justice, however, it should also be examined "whether and to what extent it makes sense to extend the duty of disclosure to further catalogable serious crimes".
The fact that possibly punishable postings on the Internet are not without consequence, the police had this week with a coordinated action want to show. On Wednesday, for the fifth time, an "action day against hate mailing" took place. In this context, officials were simultaneously deployed in nine federal states to combat illegal online statements. In a total of 21 cases, there were, among other things, apartment searches or interrogations.
