The new German legislation will allow fines and even imprisonment of those who express an opinion on the Internet that does not comply with government policy.
Officially, the Law on Countering the Spread of Hate on the Internet is designed to combat anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and extremism. The last point is notable for a rather broad interpretation, which turns the new restrictions into a censorship mechanism.
“It is not without reason that we fear that this law will become a screen for the establishment of widespread censorship on the Internet and the harassment of any opinion that differs from the one imposed by the authorities”, – Eugene Schmidt, an MP in North Rhine-Westphalia, said in a comment for EADaily.
He accused the German authorities of an attempt on freedom of speech on the Internet, when the print media, as well as the country’s television channels, have long been used by Berlin as a “mouthpiece for propaganda of the ruling course”.
The new law comes into force on Saturday, April 3. It obliges the mass media to remove objectionable publications and report them to law enforcement agencies.
As previously reported by News Front, the German state television channel also launched an Internet campaign to rehabilitate Nazism, entitled “My Nazi Past”.