(London Telegraph) Germany could impose hefty fines on social media companies that fail to delete hate speech in a crackdown against abuse online.
The German parliament has voted in favour of a law that includes the provision to levy fines of up to €50 million (£44m) from popular companies such as Facebook and YouTube if they fail to remove hateful posts in a timely manner.
The law, which is due to come into effect in October, affects sites with more than 2 million users nationally. It requires internet giants to find and delete posts containing “evidently unlawful” abusive material within 24 hours to avoid being hit with a penalty.
