Germany: Flawed Social Media Law

Expand Session of the German lower house of Parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, February 1, 2018. © 2018 Reuters/Axel Schmidt (Berlin) – The new German law that compels social media companies to remove hate speech and other illegal content can lead to unaccountable, overbroad censorship and should be promptly reversed, Human Rights Watch said today. The law sets a dangerous precedent for other governments looking to restrict speech online by forcing companies to censor on the government’s behalf. “Governments and the public have valid concerns about the proliferation of illegal or abusive content…

© Human Rights Watch - mercredi 14 février 2018