Germany: Announced Federal Office of Justice investigation into Twitter regarding content moderation

On 4 April 2023, the German Federal Office of Justice (Bundesamt für Justiz) opened an investigation into Twitter concerning content moderation under Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG). The Act compels companies to delete unlawful content within seven days of reporting or 24 hours in case its unlawfulness is manifest. Content defined as unlawful according to the German criminal code includes threats of and incitement to violence. The case is built on a series of tweets published over a period of four months and containing similar defamatory statements directed to the same person, which users had reported to the provider of Twitter in Germany. According to the Office, the failure of Twitter to remove similar reported content indicates a systemic failure to comply with content moderation requirements. The Office has given Twitter time to provide evidence of its compliance with the content moderation rules. Following an assessment of the evidence provided, the Office can close the investigation or, in case they are not sufficient, file a lawsuit with the District Court of Bonn for a preliminary ruling. In case the Court finds the content to be illegal, the Office will then be able to impose fines on the basis of the Network Enforcement Act.