Facebook facing £44m fines if it fails to combat hate

FACEBOOK and Twitter face fines of up to £44million in Germany if they fail to remove terrorism videos and other hate speech.

The social networks’ bosses will also be liable for personal fines of up to £4.4million if their companies fail to remove threats of violence, incitement to commit crimes and defamation.

The law, approved by the German parliament yesterday, gives online firms 24 hours to delete or block obviously criminal content, or seven days to deal with lesser examples.

They will also have to report back to those who file complaints about dangerous material, saying how they handled the case.

German justice minister Heiko Maas said action to end the ‘law of the jungle’ online was long overdue. A German government survey showed Facebook deleted only 39 per cent of content deemed criminal and Twitter 1 per cent, even though they signed a code of conduct including a pledge to remove hate speech within 24 hours.

The Central Council of Jews in Germany hailed the law as ‘the logical next step for effectively tackling hate speech since all voluntary agreements with the platform providers have been virtually unsuccessful’.

Last month Theresa May and French president Emmanuel Macron said they would pursue joint proposals to get tough with internet giants amid concern about the way online radicalisation has influenced terrorists in the UK and France.

Mrs May said firms had a ‘social responsibility’ to take down ‘poisonous propaganda that is warping young minds’.