Germany wants to combat the spread of fake news with legislation

Two German parties have plans to curb the spread of fake news by introducing legislation. As a result, platforms like Facebook have to remove fake messages within a 24-hour period.

The German magazine Der Spiegel bases its reporting on the subject on statements by the party leader of the SPD party, Thomas Opperman. He wants to quickly start introducing the law after the Christmas recess. In order to make the deletion of messages possible, ‘market-controlling platforms such as Facebook must set up a hotline that can be reached 24 hours a day’, according to Opperman. People who have to deal with fake messages should be able to go there.

If a company does not comply with the obligation to remove a message after notification, the political parties want a large fine. According to Opperman, this can amount to a maximum of 500,000 euros. In addition, the companies should post a correction, if deemed desirable by the affected persons. It is not the intention to ‘create an opinion police or truth commission’, according to the group leader.

Moreover, making the spread of ‘disinformation’ a criminal offense seems to him to be the wrong way to go, reports the magazine. On Thursday, Facebook announced measures against the spread of fake news. For example, it wants to use journalists to fact-check messages that readers have reservations about. They can express this via a button on the site of the social network.