Germany could charge Facebook €500,000 for every fake news story.
Earlier this week, Facebook announced a four point plan on how to stop fake news from going viral on the social network. But, Germany government officials do not seem that impressed.
Germany announced a law that would charge a fine of €500,000 or about $523,000 USD for every fake news or hate speech post that is not removed within 24 hours. The new law would require major internet platforms operating in Germany to have a point of contact to review suspected fake news and reported hate speech posts.
According to multiple reports, German government officials called out Facebook arguing the social media company has made a lot of money from fake news. In addition, they argued that when a company makes billions of dollars they have a social responsibility to remove fake news and hate speech.
This news comes after Facebook released a four-point plan to eliminate fake news from the social network, which may help Zuckerberg avoid €500,000 fines.
The social media giant announced plans on changing their algorithm, eliminating spoof sites and downranking disputed stories. In addition, Facebook is partnering with third-party fact checking organizations including Politifact, ABC News and Snopes to stop fake news. Most importantly, Facebook explained a new plan to disrupt the “financial incentives for spammers” by eliminating spoof websites.
Earlier this week, President Obama blamed the media for the rise of fake news. During a press conference on Friday, Barack Obama explained fake news mirrors partisan news reports in America.
Obama explained, “If fake news that’s being released by some foreign government is almost identical to reports that are being issued through partisan [U.S.] news venues, then it’s not surprising that foreign propaganda will have a greater effect.”
Obama also called for news reporting based on facts. “I do hope that we all just take some time, take a breath … to just reflect a little bit more about how can we get to a place where people are focused on working together based on at least some common set of facts?”