There is great horror at the murder of a police officer in Mannheim, which was presumably committed for Islamist reasons. It is displacing the criticism of the attack on the Islam critic Michael Stürzenberger. However, it is not just the dismay that is enormous. Joy and approval of this act can also be found on the so-called social networks. The Internet is full of posts celebrating the act and calling for further attacks.
One person swears “by Allah” to send the perpetrator “money, food and everything”, another hopes that the knife attacker from Mannheim will reach the “highest level of paradise”. Others hope that Michael Stürzenberger will also die and call for further attacks.
Politicians reacted – as always in these cases – with harsh words. Federal and state interior ministers demanded that such statements be “prosecuted with the full force of the criminal law”.
The problem: It is a long and arduous road before criminal law can even be applied, until courts clarify whether a statement is still covered by freedom of expression or whether it must be punished.
Much has improved in the fight against online hate in the past, but new problems are emerging.
In order to determine who has actually engaged in potentially criminal behavior, the authorities usually need the help of the platform and network operators.
The Network Enforcement Act helped at least in part, but has since been replaced by the European Digital Services Act. Both regulations are intended to combat hate crimes on so-called social networks. Initial reports of experience are still lacking.
For around three weeks now, the Federal Network Agency in Germany has been responsible for ensuring that platforms such as Facebook or X remove offensive content from their sites. The agency, with its approximately 3,000 employees, has only had 15 new positions approved by the Bundestag. Given the budget situation, it is not expected that there will be significantly more in the near future.
However, the digital content that is flooding the world is increasing. Around 30,000 hours of material are uploaded every hour – on YouTube alone.
Other platforms boast comparable numbers. Even if only a small part of it consists of hate and criminal content, it adds up to something.
In addition to Islamist calls for violence, the aim is to take action online against extremists from the left and right, against insults of all kinds and against sexual violence. In addition to government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Hate Aid are also doing this.
“In order to defend themselves against hate, those affected need effective support. That is why we are supporting Hate Aid,” says Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, for example. However, in the current budget discussions, the federal government is currently discussing cuts that could pose an “existential threat” to the NGO.
By Christian Gottschalk
The original of this article “Extremists cheer Mannheim knife attacker – behind it lies a new problem” comes from STUTTGARTER ZEITUNG.
