Germany wants social media site to record hate speech

Sharing threats made by someone else could soon become a punishable offense in Germany, after the government approved a bill on Wednesday, designed to crack down on hate speech and online extremism.

As per the bill won by the German Cabinet, social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube will require to report certain hate speech to the police.

The bill passed by ministers on Wednesday says, internet companies will have to flag far-right propaganda, graphic portrayals of violence, murder or rape threats, posts indicating that someone is preparing a terrorist attack or distributing child sexual abuse images.

Social media sites are already required to delete such posts.

The measures, which still need to be approved by parliament, will also see the definition of criminal hate speech extended to include threats of rape or property damage and expressions of approval for serious crimes. Crimes motivated by anti-Semitism will also result in increased sentences.

In a further measure, authorities will make it easier for politicians, volunteers and journalists to prevent others from obtaining their home addresses from public registers.

Jurists estimate the number of online hate speech cases in Germany each year to be in the six figures.

The bill would make showing public support for crimes, including threats of harm to people or their homes, a punishable offense. In practice, retweeting hate speech to a wide audience, or explicitly condoning it on a public forum, could be subject to prosecution if the new measures become law.

Officials said it would be up to the courts to decide which posts or shares meet the threshold of “disturbing public peace.”

Jurists estimate the number of online hate speech cases in Germany each year to be in the six figures. Hundreds of additional police officers and prosecutors will be required to handle the workload.

 “Whoever threatens to kill people ... isn’t expressing an opinion, he’s committing a crime,” Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said.