Extremism: Federal government in contact with Telegram because of hate speech

Extremism: Federal government in contact with Telegram because of hate speech

Again and again there is hate speech, calls for murder and violence in chat groups on Telegram. The BKA has long had its sights set on the communications service. Now the federal government is looking for a conversation with the messenger provider.

After hate speech and calls for violence in chat groups, the federal government contacted the Telegram messenger service, according to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.

“In an initial constructive discussion on further cooperation, we agreed to continue and intensify the exchange,” wrote the SPD politician on Twitter. “This step is a good success that we will build on.” She did not give details.

The justice ministers of the EU states are discussing hate speech and hate crimes on the Internet today (9:00 a.m.). In Germany, the focus is primarily on Telegram, because radical opponents of the Corona policy organize themselves through the service. The Federal Criminal Police Office recently announced that it would target Telegram more closely. Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) is to take part in the meeting on behalf of the federal government.

Telegram has a reputation for allowing any content without moderation. The size of groups or the forwarding of messages are almost unlimited, unlike on WhatsApp, for example. Especially during the pandemic, this attracted actors who were blocked on platforms such as YouTube or Facebook because of false information or hateful content.

In addition to individual and group chats, Telegram also has channels that are mostly public. Similar to Twitter profiles, the channel operator sends his messages to any number of subscribers. Telegram’s own guidelines prohibit inciting violence in public channels. However, sanctions or deletions are extremely rare. The company was considered difficult to reach.

Source: Stern

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