It looks as if the country of Germany may fine Facebook over a problem called “fake news.” A member of the Christian Democrat Party, Volker Kauder, wants the government to impose regulations that would make Facebook create an office space in Germany to specifically takedown “fake news” that circulates across their site. The plan in place would need Facebook to take down any “fake news” posts within a 24 hour period or they could face fines up to half a million dollars.
As you might gather, Germany is not impressed with the way that Facebook allows news posts to be freely added to their site. The German magazine, Der Spiegel, interviewed Thomas Oppermann, the SPD parliamentary chairman, who agreed that sanctions should be in place to help restore news order to social media.
In recent weeks, Facebook has had a lot of negative criticism over how they have handled “fake news.” Some critics believe that social networking is adding to misinformation being streamed across the Internet. Unfortunately, the stories that circulate across social media are usually ones that are untrue, leaving the “real news” at the bottom of the totem pole. Some even believe the reason Donald Trump won the U.S. Election was due to “fake news” spreading across the nation through social media in November.
Nevertheless, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has dismissed the claims of “fake news” circulating across his site, by calling the accusations “crazy.” However, the social media giant has committed to doing more to help fact-check stories across their platform.
Still, Oppermann wants to see more sanctions hit Facebook hard. He said, “If, after appropriate examination, Facebook does not delete the offending message within 24 hours, it should expect individual fines.”
Also, Kauder added that “there has been only talk for too long. Now we in the coalition will take action at the beginning of next year. We plan to impose high penalties that would affect companies like Facebook if they do not meet their responsibilities.”
Look to 2017. It remains to be seen if Germany will move their sanctions into action on Facebook.
