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Technology
German Hate Speech Laws: Balancing Freedom of Expression and the Fight Against the Incitement of Hatred By Catherine Forristal, JS Law Due to the influence of World War Two and the devastation of the Holocaust, Germany has developed some of the strictest laws in the world on hate speech in order to protect human dignity, enshrined in Article 1 of Germany’s Basic Law, the country’s Constitution. Hate speech is defined by Robert Mark Simpson as, “a term of art in legal and political theory that is used to refer to verbal conduct - and other symbolic, communicative action - which wilfully ‘expresses intense antipathy towards some group or towards an individual on the basis of membership in some group’, where the groups in question are usually those distinguished by ethnicity, religion, or sexuality.” In an era where communication and the rapid spread of ideas has never been easier, legislators across the globe are grappling with the challenge of adapting relevant laws to a 21st century context. In an effort to combat the growing threat that online hate speech posed and its incitement of physical manifestations of violence, Germany enacted the Network Enforcement Act (“Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz,” - referenced herein as NetzDG) in 2017. This controversial legislation required social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube to take down comments, pictures or videos that were deemed “hateful” within 24 hours of them being flagged, or to risk fines up to €50 million. Many proponents have praised this legislation for creating oversight of international tech companies. However, critics - including journalists and activists from both the left and right - have noted the dangerous precedent this may set for government censorship of the internet, as well as the delegation of responsibility for the moderation of hateful or illegal content online to private entities. Konstantin von Notz, a Green Party member of the German parliament, describes the difficulty of creating legislation that effectively deals with hate speech and the incitement of hatred, while also respecting the right to freedom of expression:
