Fighting "fake news" with the law

– Germany –

The parliament adopted in June 2017 a law against the posting on social media of hate speech, child pornography, terror-related items and false information.

Under the law social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter can be punished with fines of up to 50 million euros ($58 million) if they fail to remove such illegal content.

Their directors can also be individually fined five million euros.

Critics have warned the law will stifle legitimate free speech by prompting the platforms to excessively delete and censor posts as a precaution.