BERLIN — Germany wont allow posts that deny the Holocaust on Facebook or other social media platforms, the countrys justice ministry said.
“What Mark Zuckerberg wishes or demands for the American or international market is not possible in Germany,” a ministry spokeswoman told POLITICO on Thursday, responding to the Facebook CEOs suggestion that Holocaust denial should be tolerated on the platform.
In a podcast interview, Zuckerberg, who is Jewish, had said he found Holocaust denial “deeply offensive” but added that Facebook should not take such posts down, “because I think there are things that different people get wrong.”
In reply, the ministry spokesperson stressed there were no doubts that Holocaust denial is considered a criminal offence in Germany, under a paragraph in the countrys criminal code condemning incitement to hatred.
Therefore, she said, social media platforms like Facebook must remove such offensive content in accordance to the NetzDG, Germanys hate speech law, either by deleting or blocking it.
Earlier Thursday, German Justice Minister Katarina Barley had tweeted: “There must be no room for antisemitism. Verbal and physical attacks are part of that, as well as denying the Holocaust. The latter is being sanctioned here and is being persecuted consistently. #Zuckerberg.”
