CYRILLA: Global Digital Rights Law

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The Case of Discriminatory Content Against Immigrants

Case Law

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The Case of Discriminatory Content Against Immigrants

Case Law

Country

Germany

Country Location

Latitude: 51.168768345617636

Longitude: 10.094236493110516

Country Location (linked Case Law): Germany

Decision Date: Sep 6, 2018

Case Status: Closed

Case Outcome (Procedural)

Affirmed Lower Court

Keywords

Content Moderation
Discrimination
Hate Speech
Social Media

Judicial Body: Appellate Court

Court Name: Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart

Case Number: 4 W 63/18

Case Summary: The Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart, Germany (Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart), upheld a regional court’s decision, stating that Facebook had not violated a user’s right to freedom of expression by removing a discriminatory post about migratory movements and blocking his account for 30 days. The Court also held that the platform’s community guidelines met the requirements of transparency and non-discrimination under German contractual law. After Facebook removed the content and blocked the user’s account, arguing that a post they published violated its guidelines on hate speech, the user filed a petition for preliminary injunction before the Regional Court of Ulm — asking Facebook to cease and desist from blocking the user’s account and from removing the above-mentioned post. The Regional Court of Ulm dismissed his motion as there was no reason for a preliminary injunction. The Higher Regional Court Stuttgart upheld the decision and concluded that the applicant’s right to freedom of expression did not overweighing other rights, as his statements were discriminatory against immigrants.

Case Significance: In this decision, the Court held that Facebook can delete posts that are contrary to its community guidelines. The Court justified its decision by highlighting Facebook’s discretion based on its right to property (Art. 14 GG) and its entrepreneurial freedom (Art. 12 GG). It also underscored Facebook’s potential liability when failing to remove unlawful posts according to the Criminal Code. The Court also weighed the user’s freedom of expression against the right to dignity of other individuals (and Facebook users) that could have been affected by the deleted content. In doing so, the Court considered the post to be discriminatory and concluded that the user’s restriction of their freedom of expression was valid, which follows international standards on legitimate restrictions to this right.

This case did not set a binding or persuasive precedent either within or outside its jurisdiction. The significance of this case is undetermined at this point in time.

Related Caselaw (self)

The Case of Discriminatory Content Against Immigrants
User v. Facebook Ireland, Inc.

Related Analysis

Case Law on Content Moderation and Freedom of Expression

Source URL: Global Freedom of Expression

Collection

Columbia

Date Updated: Jul 19, 2024

Primary Documents

Decision (in German)
German
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