A Brazilian federal judge has blocked Twitter’s successor platform. Germany’s Digital Minister Wissing, on the other hand, advises a gradual response to violations of the law.
According to Federal Digital Minister Volker Wissing (FDP), blocking an online platform like the blockade of Twitter’s successor X in Brazil can only be the last resort to enforce existing laws on the Internet. “For me as a liberal politician, blocking or banning a platform must always be the ‘ultima ratio’,” said Wissing at the G20 meeting of digital ministers in Brazil in an interview with the daily newspaper “Folha de Sao Paulo”.
Only when democracy is in danger
This only applies if the state’s own security interests are threatened, democracy is in danger, or the platform knowingly and continually violates existing law. “However, the impression must never arise that the state is censoring unwelcome opinions. Germany is therefore committed globally to an open, free and secure Internet that functions without state influence and in which everyone can express their opinion and there are no network blocks.”
The FDP politician did not want to comment directly on the decision of the Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes against X. “I cannot evaluate the proceedings in Brazil, I do not know the details well enough,” Wissing told Brazil’s largest daily newspaper. On August 30, Moraes ordered the shutdown of X in the country. He accuses the Twitter successor service of not taking decisive enough action against the spread of hate speech and fake news. X owner Elon Musk, who himself represents political right-wing positions, sees himself as a defender of free speech and accuses Moraes of censorship. The judge had ordered X to block the accounts of right-wing activists who spread conspiracy theories and false information. Musk described this as illegal, the US platform did not comply with the request – and did not pay the imposed fine. In addition, the billionaire missed a deadline to appoint a legal representative for X in Brazil.
“Differentiated approach” in Europe
Wissing said that Europe is pursuing a “differentiated approach”. The Digital Services Act requires platforms to take risk-reducing measures against misinformation, hate and incitement. “Users must have the opportunity to report content and illegal content must be deleted. Repeated violations can result in very high fines of up to six percent of annual turnover.” In the event of violations, the EU Commission initiates formal proceedings. “We are seeing in initial cases such as TikTok that this instrument is having an effect. There are always politicians calling for a ban. I think such demands must be handled very carefully.”
Wissing is attending the meeting of the G20 digital ministers in Maceió, the capital of the state of Alagoas in northeastern Brazil. One of the topics to be discussed at the meeting in Maceió is disinformation on social networks.
