Facebook may continue to delete posts and block users in the event of violations of its own platform rules in Germany. In future, however, it is imperative that those affected be informed of an impending blockage and must be given the opportunity to explain themselves. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe has obliged the network to do this with two judgments. You have to be informed about the removal of a contribution at least afterwards.
The decision relates to the worldwide “community standards” with which Facebook wants to prevent discriminatory or offensive content, for example. Only those who agree can use Facebook. But not all statements that have been punished by the company so far are also punishable under German law. The question of whether the community standards of such platforms are legally effective or whether Facebook goes too far and violates the constitutionally protected freedom of expression of its users has now been clarified in court.
A man and a woman had complained, who were temporarily banned after disparaging remarks about Muslims and immigrants. According to the BGH, these statements were covered by freedom of expression. Facebook now has to reactivate the posts and is not allowed to remove them again. Because at the time of deletion in 2018, no information was provided for users. The BGH therefore declared the terms of use at the time to be ineffective on this point.
Facebook: “You have to be able to stop such phenomena in the short term”
The chairman of the Senate, Ulrich Herrmann, had already said at the beginning of the hearing that, according to the preliminary opinion, “the defendant is entitled to delete posts and block accounts, even if the content is not criminal. This is part of the corporate philosophy Freedom”. Herrmann had also suggested that the entrepreneurial freedom of Facebook, as a quasi-monopoly with 31 million users in Germany alone, must also be reconciled with the freedom of expression of users. He now repeated this view in the grounds for the judgment.
The decision could pose problems for Facebook. The company’s lawyer, Christian Rohnke, had said before the judgment that a prior hearing of the users in particular was completely unthinkable. “Any hearing would be a delay.” The shitstorm against the dark-skinned English penalty shooters after the European Championship final showed, for example, that the time factor in the network is decisive. You had to get that under control immediately by deleting and locking. “You have to be able to stop such phenomena in the short term.”