Shots well and truly fired.
Germany is set to pass legislation that will see Facebook fined €500,000 every time the social media fails to remove stories that contain either fake news or hate speech.
According to the German government, Facebook’s efforts at self-regulation have not gone far enough and now the ruling Social Democrats – along with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union – will put forward new laws that all internet platforms in Germany must have a legal contact for victims of fake news and hate speech.
“If, after checking, Facebook doesn’t delete the post in question within 24 hours, it can reckon with severe fines of up to €500,000,” said Thomas Oppermann, Bundestag floor leader from the SDP.
According to The Irish Times, Merkel confronted Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg on the issue of racist posts in September 2015.
German Facebook users have also complained that any of their issues with the service get passed on to the international headquarters in Dublin, with varying response times.
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