On June 30, 2017 the Bundestag passed the marriage for all law (same-sex-marriage).
Thereafter the vast majority of them left the hall in a hurry and it was voted on by the Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) of Heiko Maas.
The law aims to improve law enforcement against hate speech on social networks.
In case of non-compliance the NetzDG demands horrendous fines.
[1]
In Germany the right to freedom of expression actually applies. According to the basic law (de facto constitution) there is no censorship. [2] But there is also a paragraph in the criminal law against the public call for criminal offenses. This would render the NetzDG unnecessary if it would aim for criminal content. The NetzDG however is about the ambiguous term hate speech. [3]
The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Speech David Kaye warned the federal government before the vote. In a letter dated June 16, 2017 he writes that the bill is a major threat to freedom of expression. And that this law hands over the private sphere and the administration of justice in this area to private companies. [4]
The scientific service of the German Bundestag produced an assessment on the NetzDG. Here it criticizes the draft of Heiko Maas and stated that the bill in unconstitutional and violates EU law. [5] At a subsequent hearing on the bill in the German Bundestag eight out of ten experts had considerable concerns and repeatedly called the NetzDG unconstitutional. They see a danger to freedom of expression in the NetzDG. Bernd Holznagel the director of the Institute for Information, Telecommunications and Media Law at the University of Münster said that companies tend to delete legal contributions in order to avoid penalties. The managing director of Reporters Without Borders Christian Mihr sees the methods of an autocratic state in the NetzDG and sees the risk of abuse in the NetzdDG. [6]
In fact social media providers employ people with no legal education to take over the task of courts. In addition the penalty for violations can be up to 5 mio. euros. A preventive deletion due to mass flaggings even with safe content is therefore to be expected.
On June 30, 2017 the Bundestag passed the NetzDG with 55 members of parliament. The law aims to improve law enforcement against hate speech on social networks. In fact it is a massive restriction of freedom of expression. [1] But according to the rules of procedure the Bundestag needs more than half of its members in the meeting room to be eligable to pass laws. However the vote took place with just 55 out of 631 members of parliament. Thus the Bundestag was not eligable to pass laws according to these rules. Nevertheless a law was passed that in the opinion of many legal experts restricts the fundamental right to freedom of expression and is therefore unconstitutional. [7]
The call to dissolve due to a lack of members however must come from the members of parliament. The Greens (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) fall out because they have left the hall. CDU/CSU and SPD supported the law. Against that law was only the Left Party (Die Linke). If the eligibility had been challenged then all previous votes would have had to be repeated. Whether the NetzDG would have come through then is open. But the Left Party has decided to do nothing.
In the meantime Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has cited former Justice Minister Heiko Maas in his restriction of freedom of expression in the fight against the opposition. He justified his fight against the opposition with the actions of Heiko Maas NetzDG. [8]
[1] Nur ein paar Dutzend stimmten für das Zensurgesetz 2017-07-02:
https://www.berlinjournal.biz/stimmen-fuer-netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz//
[2] Grundgesetz Art 5:
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_5.html/
[3] Strafgesetzbuch Art 111:
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stgb/__111.html/
[4] http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Opinion/Legislation/OL-DEU-1-2017.pdf/
[5] Entwurf eines Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetzes - Vereinbarkeit mit der Meinungsfreiheit 2017-06-12:
https://www.bundestag.de/blob/510514/eefb7cf92dee88ec74ce8e796e9bc25c/wd-10-037-17-pdf-data.pdf/
[6] Maas' Facebook-Gesetz muss schrumpfen 2017-06-19:
http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/netzpolitik/heiko-maas-facebook-gesetz-muss-schrumpfen-a-1152991.html
[7] http://www.bundestag.de/parlament/aufgaben/rechtsgrundlagen/go_btg/go06/245164
[8] Facebook-Gesetz: Schießt Maas übers Ziel hinaus? 2017-06-20:
https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/politik/Facebook-Gesetz-Schiesst-Maas-uebers-Ziel-hinaus-id41792751.html
In Germany the right to freedom of expression actually applies. According to the basic law (de facto constitution) there is no censorship. [2] But there is also a paragraph in the criminal law against the public call for criminal offenses. This would render the NetzDG unnecessary if it would aim for criminal content. The NetzDG however is about the ambiguous term hate speech. [3]
The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Speech David Kaye warned the federal government before the vote. In a letter dated June 16, 2017 he writes that the bill is a major threat to freedom of expression. And that this law hands over the private sphere and the administration of justice in this area to private companies. [4]
The scientific service of the German Bundestag produced an assessment on the NetzDG. Here it criticizes the draft of Heiko Maas and stated that the bill in unconstitutional and violates EU law. [5] At a subsequent hearing on the bill in the German Bundestag eight out of ten experts had considerable concerns and repeatedly called the NetzDG unconstitutional. They see a danger to freedom of expression in the NetzDG. Bernd Holznagel the director of the Institute for Information, Telecommunications and Media Law at the University of Münster said that companies tend to delete legal contributions in order to avoid penalties. The managing director of Reporters Without Borders Christian Mihr sees the methods of an autocratic state in the NetzDG and sees the risk of abuse in the NetzdDG. [6]
In fact social media providers employ people with no legal education to take over the task of courts. In addition the penalty for violations can be up to 5 mio. euros. A preventive deletion due to mass flaggings even with safe content is therefore to be expected.
On June 30, 2017 the Bundestag passed the NetzDG with 55 members of parliament. The law aims to improve law enforcement against hate speech on social networks. In fact it is a massive restriction of freedom of expression. [1] But according to the rules of procedure the Bundestag needs more than half of its members in the meeting room to be eligable to pass laws. However the vote took place with just 55 out of 631 members of parliament. Thus the Bundestag was not eligable to pass laws according to these rules. Nevertheless a law was passed that in the opinion of many legal experts restricts the fundamental right to freedom of expression and is therefore unconstitutional. [7]
The call to dissolve due to a lack of members however must come from the members of parliament. The Greens (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) fall out because they have left the hall. CDU/CSU and SPD supported the law. Against that law was only the Left Party (Die Linke). If the eligibility had been challenged then all previous votes would have had to be repeated. Whether the NetzDG would have come through then is open. But the Left Party has decided to do nothing.
In the meantime Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has cited former Justice Minister Heiko Maas in his restriction of freedom of expression in the fight against the opposition. He justified his fight against the opposition with the actions of Heiko Maas NetzDG. [8]
[1] Nur ein paar Dutzend stimmten für das Zensurgesetz 2017-07-02:
https://www.berlinjournal.biz/stimmen-fuer-netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz//
[2] Grundgesetz Art 5:
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_5.html/
[3] Strafgesetzbuch Art 111:
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stgb/__111.html/
[4] http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Opinion/Legislation/OL-DEU-1-2017.pdf/
[5] Entwurf eines Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetzes - Vereinbarkeit mit der Meinungsfreiheit 2017-06-12:
https://www.bundestag.de/blob/510514/eefb7cf92dee88ec74ce8e796e9bc25c/wd-10-037-17-pdf-data.pdf/
[6] Maas' Facebook-Gesetz muss schrumpfen 2017-06-19:
http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/netzpolitik/heiko-maas-facebook-gesetz-muss-schrumpfen-a-1152991.html
[7] http://www.bundestag.de/parlament/aufgaben/rechtsgrundlagen/go_btg/go06/245164
[8] Facebook-Gesetz: Schießt Maas übers Ziel hinaus? 2017-06-20:
https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/politik/Facebook-Gesetz-Schiesst-Maas-uebers-Ziel-hinaus-id41792751.html
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