Facebook boss suspected of aiding 'inciting rebellion'

On November 4, the German newspaper "Spiegel" reported that the Munich City Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and other leaders on suspicion of aiding and abetting "incitement to rebellion."

For the first time, German authorities have opened an investigation into Facebook executives, including founder and CEO Zuckerberg, chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, head of Europe Richard Allan and head of Germany Eva-Maria Kirschsieper. The investigation was launched after German authorities received a complaint accusing Facebook executives of turning a blind eye to incitement to murder, threats of violence, Holocaust denial and other crimes.

When notified of inappropriate content, Facebook has a responsibility to remove such illegal content from its sites. However, Facebook rarely does so, and the lawsuit lists instances where Facebook has failed to remove content despite repeated requests. In most cases, Facebook has either not responded or responded with formulaic statements that the content was “harmless.”

Facebook has been under fire in Germany for allowing hateful content on the social network for over a year. Last month, German Justice Minister Heiko Maas criticized Facebook for its lack of intervention when it was notified of inappropriate content posted on the social network, with a removal rate of just 46% when ordinary users reported hateful content or comments.

According to Vietnam+