US and Chinese social media giants Google, Meta, Twitter and TikTok have turned to a court in Germany to oppose new rules in the EU country that require them to from Tuesday, February 1, to report cases of hate speech on their platforms to police and to delete such content, Belgian news portal EurActiv reports.
The altered Germany’s Network Enforcement Act puts in place requirements for online media with over two million users, such as Google or Facebook, to send information to the authorities for criminal prosecutions. Such big tech companies are also required to delete content that violates Germany criminal law and report it to the German Federal Criminal Police Office.
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US companies Google, Meta, Twitter and Chinese Tik Tok have filed a lawsuit opposing the amended law in the Cologne Administrative Court. Taking into the legal actions into account, the German Ministry of Justice has noted to Meta and Google, which owns the video-sharing site YouTube, that it will not require them to report until the court decided on their lawsuits.
Currently, it is not known, the Cologne Administrative Court will deliver a decision and if temporary exemptions would also be granted to Twitter and TikTok, EurActiv reports.
Internet giants in Germany oppose law requiring to report hate speech to police
