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The Germans have lost a political cleaning mechanism that was state reason: anyone who was racist or Nazi-like daherredete, an ugly face in political public, was outlawed – and quickly banished from stage. This did not remove racism from minds, but at least largely from public.
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Today, this is no longer reliable, because in social networks, one constantly pulls a face. So many people cannot be banished, it would not be politically desirable and technically almost impossible. This circumstance was reason for Network Enforcement Act, short NetzDG, by Federal Justizminister Heiko Maas (SPD). It was created in yearning for a new, effective weapon against publicly presented slander, Ehrabschneidende insults, racism – and worse.
Deleted satire
However, since it has been fully in force since beginning of January, a fierce debate is raging. What happened? Beatrix von Storch (AfD) had mobed on Twitter, she spoke of “barbaric, Muslim, groups raping men hordes”, tweet was deleted with reference to NetzDG and removed from Twitter and Facebook. In same way, a satirical contribution from magazine Titanic was later on Twitter. It remains unclear wher Mrs von Storch’s Unflätigkeiten are actually illegal. To erase satire was obviously a mistake of digital corporations, whereupon all possible voices are raised, which want to recognize a danger to freedom of expression – and reject whole law (German Journalists ‘ Association, Greens, FDP – and of course AfD).
But that would be wrong. The NetzDG is a, albeit inadequate, step towards less violence in public discourse: less agitation and less insults, less racism and Nazi slogans. This requires a state’s effort to be appropriate to digital change. For it is only a reminder: NetzDG does not exacerbate law, but merely forces digital conglomerates, with threat of punishment, to finally apply applicable law and to delete illegal statements.
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To withdraw this law now simply because it has weaknesses and does not solve problem within days investigate it was created would be absurd. On contrary, attention that NetzDG draws on borderline cases of freedom of expression is good. The law does not lead to disappearance of statements from Internet, but instead discovers bad speeches to a quarantine station until courts deal with m. In meantime, said is becoming subject of a social discussion.
This is precisely what debate about Stork and her party colleague Jens Maier (“The Negro”) shows. By blocking today almost everyone knows what two have posted, and it is arguing wider than without law.
And without controversy, liberal intellectual Ralf Dahrendorf once said that re is no progress. Democracy and freedom continue to evolve only by sharpening its arguments. He’s right.
