Top-Selling German Newspaper Says New Online Hate Speech Law Must be Scrapped

A new law meant to curtail hate speech on social media in Germany is stifling free speech and making martyrs out of anti-immigrant politicians whose posts are deleted, the top-selling Bild newspaper said on Thursday.

The law which took effect on Jan. 1 can impose fines of up to 50 million euros ($60 million) on sites that fail to remove hate speech promptly. Twitter has deleted anti-Muslim and anti-migrant posts by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and blocked a satirical account that parodied Islamophobia.

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"Please spare us the thought police!" read a headline in Wednesday's Bild above an article that called the law a "sin" against freedom of opinion enshrined in Germany's constitution.

The law requires social media sites to delete or block obviously criminal content within 24 hours but Bild Editor-in-Chief Julian Reichelt said it could be applied against anything and anyone since there was no definition of what was "manifestly unlawful" in most cases.

Intended to prevent radical groups from gaining influence, it was having precisely the opposite effect, he said.

"The law against online hate speech failed on its very first day. It should be abolished immediately," Reichelt wrote, adding that the law was turning AfD politicians into "opinion martyrs".

Among the tweets deleted was one by AfD lawmaker Beatrix von Storch criticizing police for tweeting in Arabic, saying they had sought "to appease the barbaric, Muslim, rapist hordes of men". Police have since asked prosecutors to investigate her for possible incitement to hatred.

A deleted tweet by another AfD member of parliament, Jens Maier, called Noah Becker - the son of former tennis champion Boris Becker - a "half-nigger".

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