Germany insists self-regulation not enough for Facebook

A figure depicting hate speech at Facebook in Duesseldorf, Germany. Facebook reported removing 1,392 posts in 2019 due to the law, about a third of the complaints it received, far fewer than the more than quarter of a million complaints reported by Twitter and Google’s YouTube video service. — Reuters

BERLIN: Germany is determined to expand its attempts to regulate online hate speech even as Facebook promises to do more to clean up its site after a global advertiser boycott, with politicians saying the issue is too important to leave to self-regulation.

A German law in force since 2018 demands that social networks delete or block obviously criminal content within 24 hours of receiving a complaint or face a hefty fine.