Germany wants Facebook to take initiative in fight against online hate

A man poses with a magnifier in front of a Facebook logo on display in this illustration taken in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, December 16, 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government wants Facebook to be more proactive in monitoring and, if necessary, removing forbidden as well as offensive content from its social network platform.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere visited Facebook's offices in Berlin and said the company had done well in cooperating with authorities when help was requested but it needed to do more on its own to thwart racist comments, outlawed symbols and appeals for terror.