Internet Censorship in Germany Explained

Germany has a complex internet censorship landscape, shaped by both national laws and international agreements. The country's NetzDG law, enacted in 2017, requires social media platforms to remove hate speech within 24 hours.

The NetzDG law applies to platforms with over 2 million registered users. This means that even smaller platforms must comply with the law.

Germany's approach to internet censorship is influenced by its history and cultural values. The country has a strong tradition of protecting free speech, but also takes steps to prevent the spread of hate speech and extremism.

The law's focus on social media platforms reflects the growing importance of these platforms in German society.

Suggestion: Internet Censorship and Surveillance by Country

In Germany, internet censorship is governed by a complex set of laws and regulations.

The German Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) requires social media platforms to remove hate speech and other illegal content within 24 hours of notification. This law was enacted in 2018 and has been amended several times since then.

The German government has also implemented a law that prohibits the distribution of child pornography, with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment.

The laws governing our daily lives are numerous and complex.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for employers.

Employers with 15 or more employees must comply with the FLSA.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) requires employers to provide a safe working environment for employees.

Employers must also provide a written hazard communication program for employees who work with hazardous chemicals.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from discriminating against employees with disabilities.

Employees with disabilities must be provided with reasonable accommodations to perform their job duties.

Expand your knowledge: Digital Services Act

Regulatory paradigms are a challenge when it comes to the Internet, as it combines traits of traditional communication media, making it difficult to classify and regulate.

The postal and telecommunication paradigm may be rejected because most countries don't monitor all or even a large part of such exchanges, making it too expensive.

Myanmar is a notable exception, where unauthorized use of networked computers is prohibited. Most countries, however, impose minimal regulations on computers.

The computing paradigm may be rejected because censors see computers as just another manufactured product, like hardware. The advertising model may seem ideal for censors, but it has two major problems.

The first problem with using the advertising model is that contents on the Internet cannot be analogized to advertisements because they are not all commercial speech. The second problem is that there is no one to screen all postings.

Germany was debating whether the Internet is a print medium or a broadcast medium, with implications for regulation at the state or federal level. Many countries, including the USA, France, Australia, and Singapore, have placed the Internet under the regulators of the broadcast industry.

Germany has taken a strict approach to internet censorship, with laws like NetzDG requiring social media companies to remove offensive content within 24 hours. This law applies to for-profit websites with over 2 million users.

Critics have questioned the feasibility of fining companies €50 million for failing to comply, and pointed to the difficulty of removing "more legally ambiguous content" within a week. The law has also been criticized for being overly restrictive, with some victims of harassment campaigns supporting increased restrictions.

In 2018, a German Internet user successfully sued Facebook for deleting a post that was critical of Germany, highlighting the challenges of balancing free speech with censorship.

In June 2009, the Bundestag passed the Access Impediment Act, or Zugangserschwerungsgesetz, which introduced internet blocking of sites found to distribute child pornography.

The law was a response to the need to address online child exploitation, but it was met with intense political debate.

The law did not come into force until federal elections in September 2009 changed the setup of the governing coalition.

After the elections, the new governing parties CDU and FDP agreed to focus on take-down efforts instead of implementing the blocking.

The governing parties decided to review the success of the deletion policy after one year.

In April 2011, the governing parties ultimately decided to repeal the law altogether.

Additional reading: Blocking of YouTube Videos in Germany

The Network Enforcement Act, also known as NetzDG, was passed in June 2017 to require social media companies in Germany to censor extremism online, with significant hate speech provisions.

This law applies to for-profit websites with over 2 million users, and demands the removal of offensive illegal content within 24 hours, with an additional week to review "more legally ambiguous content".

Critics have questioned the feasibility of fining companies €50 million for failing to comply, and pointed to hundreds of new German content moderators hired by Facebook.

A report testing the amount of illegal content that could be removed within 24 hours found figures of 90% for YouTube, 39% for Facebook, and 1% for Twitter.

The NetzDG law was authored by Heiko Maas and went into full effect in January 2018.

Purveyors of satire criticized the law after the magazine Titanic and the comedian Sophie Passmann were both suspended from Twitter after attempting to mock anti-Muslim rhetoric.

The United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of expression David Kaye expressed a fear that NetzDG would lead to overly restrictive blocking.

Some victims of harassment campaigns have supported increased restrictions, stating "I don't mind if other comments get deleted along with the bad ones."

For another approach, see: Blocking of Twitter in Brazil

Germany has a law that censors pornography and anti-Semitic propaganda, in addition to prohibiting acts like denying the Holocaust and distributing hard-core pornography to minors.

This law puts the responsibility on "suppliers" to prevent suspect content, but it's not clearly defined what that means. One interpretation is that online services like CompuServe and America Online could be held liable if they have the technical means to block questionable material but fail to do so.

A ban on a Dutch Web site led to it being mirrored by at least nine other sites worldwide, highlighting the challenges of regulating content online.