Announcement from the head of the global Internet concern, Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, could have serious consequences for Germany and Europe in the medium term. In a video message, the inventor of Facebookut announced that it would abandon fact-checking on its platforms as Facebook and Instagram in the future, starting in the US.
The California-based company, Zuckerberg said, will significantly revise its content moderation policies and end its third-party fact-checking program. Zuckerberg literally said: “We reached a point where there were too many mistakes and too much censorship. The last election was a cultural turning point towards free speech." We won't need fact-checkers anymore, the billionaire said. They have been politically biased and "destroyed more than created trust, especially in the US". The fact checkers were previously employees of well-known news agencies such as AFP and Reuters, and they checked the content of the platforms in 26 languages.
Zuckerberg justified the move for five minutes in the video. He obviously also reacted to the criticism that many US Republicans, including the confidant of the future President, Donald Trump - the chief of Tesla-s, Elon Musk – had repeatedly spoken out about controlling the content on his platforms.
In the EU and Germany, the reaction to Zuckerberg's announcement is more subdued, which may also have something to do with the fact that the end of controls, for example on sexist or extremist right-wing content, does not initially apply to Europe. Because, with the Digital Services Act (DSA), stricter rules apply in the EU than in America,
although fact-checkers are not explicitly mentioned in it. European law requires major online platforms to take action against hate and hate speech, as well as other illegal online content. And, this is hardly possible without the help of external experts. In case of violations, Internet companies face fines of up to six percent of their annual global turnover. The law has been in force in Germany since May 2024.
German Minister for Digital Affairs Volker Wissing (ex-FDP), who is currently in the US, also referred to this existing difference between the EU and the US and commented on Zuckerberg's announcement: “We take this very seriously. We are always ready to act decisively and adapt the regulations, if we notice that companies like Meta are not meeting our need for safe and verified information. We will not allow our democracy to be challenged."
Even the General Secretary of the SPD, Matthias Miersch, said that if Zuckerberg no longer takes measures against "fake news", the "issue of criminal offenses" would also be raised here. Miersch referred to allegations of electoral influence by internet platforms, for example in Romania. Something like this means "undermining the basic democratic structures".
Chancellor Olaf Scholz's (SPD) spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, made a similar statement. He said on Wednesday in Berlin: "We have full confidence in the EU Commission that it is doing its job." And, asked by DW, chancellor candidate and leader of the conservative CDU, Friedrich Merz, said Wednesday in the Bavarian state: "I am watching this with growing concern. When it comes to the issue of democratic control, legitimacy and legal basis, the digital world is nothing but analog". And, in fact, there is no room for agitation and hatred there either.
The news from the US also caused outrage among German internet experts. Digital expert Markus Beckedahl described Zuckerberg's decision as a "180-degree turn." On ZDF, the German Second Television, Beckedahl, founder and editor-in-chief of the blog Netzpolitik.org and co-initiator of the conference Re: Publica, called the step of the head of Meta-s a nod to Donald Trump and his incoming administration.
Almost all of the wishes and demands of the Republican Party, such as eliminating fact-checking and implementing "radical free speech on all platforms," are now the policies of Meta-s, says Beckedahl.
Zuckerberg had emphasized years ago that his social media channels were not there to spread hate and incite it, which is something he would pay attention to.
But even in Berlin there are also supporters of the change announced by Zuckerberg. FDP deputy, Wolfgang Kubicki, vice president of the German Bundestag, hailed Meta's decision as "good news for free speech". /DW/
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