German states pressure social media platforms over hate speech

German states are set to put more pressure on social media platforms to act against hate speech and incitement online.
The interior minister of the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Thomas Strobl, told DPA that from next year they will be obliged to report any such illegal content on their platforms to the police.
Encrypted messenger services, such as Telegram, would not be bound by the new regulations but neither would they be left free to ignore the issue, he said: "Hate and incitement is also a major problem there, as they have a huge reach."
Messenger services were not a law-free zone, and state interior ministers had agreed at a meeting on Thursday that they would also need to be dealt with urgently, Strobl said.