Berlin, Mar. 23, (dpa/GNA) - German Environmental Aid (DUH) is suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, over expressions of hatred spread by Facebook groups.
The non-profit environmental and consumer protection association’s director Jürgen Resch wants Meta to close down certain groups.
As part of his campaign he announced on Wednesday that he was bringing a test case before the Berlin Regional Court.
“We no longer accept the persecution and threats in such social media groups,” Resch said. He and his staff have been experiencing a high level of hostility and insults for years, which have escalated into threats of violence, he said.
A spokesperson for the court said the case would be heard on April 13.
According to Resch, the environmental organization had initially tried to reach an agreement with Meta. However, the company refused to close groups such as “Stop the German Environmental Aid (DUH)!” which has around 50,000 members.
Threats of violence and murder were regularly posted there, and sometimes remained up for weeks. There was talk of “bounty” and “hiring killers,” Resch said, adding that he had even received an envelope with a bullet in it.
A Meta spokeswoman said that hate speech was unacceptable and that the company was taking active steps against the spread of hate speech on its platforms. Meta is constantly investing in technology and reporting tools so that hate speech can be detected and removed even faster, she said. “In this case, we removed the content that was reported to us.”
DUH’s lawyer, Juliane Schütt, said the lawsuit was aimed at making Meta take responsibility for the content. “We want to ensure that Meta no longer shifts the responsibility to the victims,” she said, “but instead removes the breeding ground for hate in its networks.”
GNA