Germany Takes a Stand Against Hate Speech: Shifting Responsibility from Users to Tech Giants
26.01.2024|Christian Kreutz
Positive news from Germany against hate speech. German court mandates Meta to seek and remove such content, shifting duty from users to company. Turning the principles of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (USA) that brought us into this mess.
The Communications Decency Act of 1996, particularly Section 230, significantly influenced online content moderation by providing immunity to internet platforms from liability for user-generated content. This meant platforms were not legally responsible for the posts and comments made by users and lead to the dynamic growth of social media platforms.
The new German ruling marks a departure from this approach by placing proactive responsibility on the platform itself.