Facebook could be fined 50 million euros for spreading fake news?

According to the Independent, a bill is being discussed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the cabinet with the content of a maximum fine of 50 million euros if social networks allow fake news to spread.

Fake news is flooding Facebook and Twitter. Photo: Getty

The bill stipulates that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter will be fined up to 50 million euros (about 43 million USD) if they fail to remove fake news, defamatory statements or illegal content.

Angela Merkel's cabinet unanimously approved the bill. With freedom of speech increasing, fake news is likely to pose a threat to the upcoming election.

"We should not tolerate any disruptive behavior on social media or incitement to crime on the streets. Establishing better governance is an act of atonement for the victims," ​​Heiko Maas, Germany's justice minister, announced the launch of this campaign across Europe.

The draft also adds prison sentences for crimes of making statements that attack, slander, falsely accuse, manipulate, incite, or defame individuals or groups against the government and crimes of mass destruction and crimes against humanity.

According to the Independent, the problem of "fake news" and racist posts spreading on social media is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed before the September election in Germany.

In addition, Germany's national security issue is being put on top with concerns about terrorism from one million immigrants in the past two years, typically the intervention of the extremist Islamic organization Isis.

Last month, Facebook won a lawsuit in which a Syrian citizen was accused of terrorism and murder for his anti-immigrant posts.

Anas Modamani took a selfie with German Chancellor Merkel and posted it on social media. However, some racist individuals and organizations used the photo to accuse Anas of terrorism and planning an assassination.

Anas Modamani takes a photo with Mrs Merkel. Photo: Independent

"I take pictures because I like it, there is no bad motive," Anas told the Independent.

Facebook cannot remove all of the inflammatory content. That puts Anas at risk. His lawyer points out that Facebook’s content moderation policy does not address defamation, which is a serious crime in Germany, the UK and elsewhere.

The bill, which is expected to be passed, would give social media sites 24 hours to remove or block offending content and seven days to censor less serious posts. It would also require sites to provide victims with detailed information about how they will resolve the issue.

Organisations that break the law but fail to make timely changes could be fined up to €50m, and their representatives in Germany could also be fined €5m (£4.3m).

The bill also adds a number of censorship items such as child pornography and allows courts to intervene in social networking sites to find information about suspects.

Germany's justice minister said Facebook typically only removes 39% of content reported by users, while Twitter only removes 1%, despite the companies signing a 2015 agreement to remove all offensive posts within 24 hours.

According to Zing.vn