German politicians fend off online hate and threats

July 28, 2017

“We’re quick to respond,” Özcan Mutlu said. The Greens Party Bundestag member is campaigning for re-election. His team quickly creates and posts images and gifs across his social media channels. Mutlu is no internet newbie. His supporters expect him to keep on top of his core campaign issues as they appear online. Others, though, react less kindly to him.

Read more: Hate speech curb should look beyond Facebook, Twitter

Threats from all sides

As a German with Turkish roots, he is confronted by both neo-Nazis and Turkish nationalists – not only hate-filled commentary, but also death threats. Send him “to the gas chamber,” one message said.

“I always report these offenses,” he said. So far, however, that reporting has had little effect. The state attorney has looked into more than 40 instances of online abuse and nearly all are covered by freedom of expression. Mutlu is angry. In some cases, offenders have been summoned by police, he said, only to apologize to him for their comments. Mutlu was then encouraged to forgive them, “which is absurd,” he said. Mutlu feels particularly threatened by comments that clearly suggest “they are in your immediate vicinity, from those you can come across on the street.”

Read more: Facebook slams proposed German anti-hate speech social media law

Broad support for controlling online speech

Mutlu’s party colleague, Renate Künast, once turned the tables, visiting the homes of those who posted hateful comments about her. Some found it funny, but it changed little. Members of all parties face threats. Opposition was thus nearly nonexistent to regulations that crack down on social media comments recently introduced in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, just ahead of the country’s September national elections. The Greens contest the details, but many are for it overall.

Free speech under threat

“Freedom of speech has a weak lobby in Germany,” said Niko Härting, a lawyer in Berlin who specializes in internet issues and is against the new regulations. “Everyone is concerned with what should be banned,” he added, meaning what people do not want to hear. There is general agreement that “freedom of speech should be protected for the majority against the loud comments of the minority, which are occasional. This is, of course, a very dangerous course of action.”

Härting also has expertise in the way Facebook deals with hate speech. The social media giant’s office in Berlin can delete offensive comments, though the company has restricted media access to it. “What you find there would hardly win any friends,” Härting, who has visited the office, said.

Violence and pornography

Violence and hard pornography get deleted, he said. Decision-making authority over online speech is, as he sees it, surrendered to a private company. Härting posed the question: What happens when “someone is blocked by Facebook because a satirical post gets misunderstood by a Facebook employee?” There is no recourse in this case. Instead, Härtling wants to hold the state attorney to account, with a task force comprised of experts with a deep knowledge on the subject.

Mutlu agrees, but he wants to see Facebook held accountable, too. “Facebook has algorithms to block posts showing nudity,” he said. “If Facebook wants to it can build algorithms for criminal offenses. But the company doesn’t want to do that.”

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies

Free speech or illegal content?

Whether hate speech, propaganda or activism, governments across the globe have upped efforts to curb content deemed illegal from circulating on social networks. From drawn out court cases to blanket bans, DW examines how some countries try to stop the circulation of illicit content while others attempt to regulate social media.

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies

Social media law

In Germany, Justice Minister Heiko Maas has proposed a law that would impose heavy fines on social media companies, such as Facebook, for failing to take down posts containing hate speech. But Facebook has pushed back, saying “preventing and combating hate speech and fake news is a public task that the state cannot avoid.” The law is currently being reviewed by a German parliamentary committee.

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies

Right to be forgotten

In 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that European citizens had the right to request search engines, such Google and Bing, remove “inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive” search results linked to their name. Although Google has complied with the ruling, it has done so reluctantly, warning that it could make the internet as “free as the world’s least free place.”

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies

Blanket ban

In May, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Russian social media platforms and web services. The blanket ban affected millions of Ukrainian citizens, many of whom were anxious about their data. The move prompted young Ukrainians to protest on the streets, calling for the government to reinstate access to platforms that included VKontakte (VK), Russia’s largest social network.

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies

Safe Harbor

In 2015, the European Court of Justice ruled that Safe Harbor, a 15-year-old pact between the US and EU that allowed the transfer of personal data without prior approval, was effectively invalid. Austrian law student Max Schrems had launched the legal proceedings against Facebook in response to revelations made by former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, Edward Snowden.

Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies

Regulation

In China, the use of social media is highly regulated by the government. Beijing has effectively blocked access to thousands of websites and platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Instead, China offers its citizens access to local social media platforms, such as Weibo and WeChat, which boast hundreds of millions of monthly users.

Author: Lewis Sanders IV