Elon Musk’s free speech approach to Twitter is colliding with German regulators, who may fine the company for failing to take down illegal content.
Germany’s Federal Office of Justice today announced it had started “fine proceedings” against Twitter for possibly violating the country’s Network Enforcement Act. The law essentially requires social media companies to act within 24 hours to remove “clearly illegal” content after it’s been reported, and within seven days to remove other less-obvious illegal postings.
The illegal content can include incitements of hate, defamatory speech, and personal threats. Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter has neglected to crack down on a wave of illegal content over a four-month period, claims the Federal Office of Justice, which says the problems are “systemic,” warranting a potential fine.
“Numerous content was reported to the BfJ (Federal Office of Justice) that was published on Twitter, which the authority considers illegal and, despite user complaints, was not deleted or blocked by the provider within the legally stipulated periods,” the government agency says.
“All contents contain similar, unjustified, defamatory expressions of opinion, all of which are directed against the same person,” the office adds, without elaborating.
The German government is now giving Twitter the chance to respond as part of the fine proceedings. If Twitter is found to be breaking the country’s Network Enforcement Act, then it could face fines up to €50 million ($54.7 million).
The scrutiny comes after independent researchers noticed a surge in hate speech against Black and gay people circulating on Twitter since Musk took over the platform in late October. Meanwhile, the European Union has also warned it could issue billion-dollar fines against Twitter if it fails to police its platform from threats such as disinformation.
Twitter no longer responds to requests for comment; emails sent to the press email auto-respond with a poop emoji. But last month, Twitter contended that hate speech on the site has decreased. At the same time, Musk has said Twitter will follow the laws of the countries where it operates. Still, under his leadership, the company has laid off thousands of employees, which has made it harder for the social media platform to operate.
In 2012, Twitter announced that it had developed a way to filter out tweets that ran afoul of certain countries' restrictions on speech. Germany and France, for example, ban pro-Nazi content. And while that type of sentiment might be frowned upon, it is protected speech under the First Amendment in the US.