Action against Twitter

Germany

The decision to take action against Twitter in Germany is related to
Germany’s strong legal basis for dealing with this issue, with the help of a law that came into effect in October 2017 requiring companies like Twitter to remove antisemitic content within 24 hours of being brought to their attention or face possible fines. The Association hired a lawyer in Germany specializing in Internet law to assist with this matter.

Since August 2019, the Center sent the lawyer more than 20 sets of files that contained antisemitic tweets, and in accordance with the procedure laid down in German law, he forwarded them to Twitter for removal. About 30 percent were removed immediately, and the plan is to follow the German law procedure regarding the remaining files. In general, the continuation of the process entails an appeal to the relevant German authorities arguing that Twitter has refused to remove antisemitic tweets. German law imposes heavy fines on such violations.

The Center is continuing, through professional data mining, to find additional materials that we will send the lawyer for further legal action against Twitter.