Enlarge image
Facebook: The NetzDG gets a "research clause"
Photo: KAREN BLEIER / AFP
In the fight against criminal hate speech on the Internet, the German Bundestag, with the votes of the black-red government coalition, decided to change the Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG).
This is intended to strengthen the rights of users.
The factions of the AfD and FDP voted against the amendment, the Greens and the Left abstained.
"Anyone who is threatened or insulted on the Internet must be able to report it simply and easily," said Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD).
Therefore, in the future, reporting channels should be easy to find and easy to use.
The amendment to the NetzDG also introduces a »counter-presentation procedure« with which users can defend themselves against the blocking of supposedly illegal content without having to go to court immediately.
The Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG), first passed in 2017, applies to all operators of social networks with more than two million registered users in Germany.
Outside are e-mail and messenger services, professional networks, specialist portals, online games and sales platforms.
It obliges the platforms to crack down on hate, hate speech and terrorist propaganda.
Bitkom: "Bureaucratic monster remote from practice"
Tankred Schipanski, the digital policy spokesman for the CDU / CSU parliamentary group, said the changed NetzDG would improve the rights of those affected by hate speech.
"Facebook and Co. are obliged to simplify their reporting channels according to the NetzDG and the objection to decisions." The new counter-presentation procedure between the parties to the dispute enables easier out-of-court settlement of disputes.
In the event of a deletion, users can now request an individual justification for the decision about deleted content.
A "research clause" is also new.
Scientists are entitled to information from platforms in order to be able to better research the spread of hate speech using algorithms on the basis of data.
The aim is to find out, for example, whether the dissemination of illegal content “leads to specific user groups being affected”.
The amendment met with sharp criticism outside parliament at the Bitkom digital association.
When trying to strengthen user rights, the new law overshoots the mark, said Bitkom CEO Bernhard Rohleder.
With the counter-presentation procedure "a practice-unrelated bureaucratic monster" is created.
In the debate in the Bundestag, AfD and the left in particular criticized the amendment.
Stephan Brandner (AfD) said the law promotes the censorship of uncomfortable opinions.
However, an evaluation of the NetzDG last year did not reveal any signs of so-called over-blocking.
Niema Movassat (left) criticized a possible transfer of the data to the Federal Criminal Police Office and spoke of a "bad law".
Renate Künast (Greens) said the NetzDG was lagging behind the current developments.
pbe / dpa
