Merkel suggests changes could be made to Germany's online hate speech law
BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel signalled on Saturday that she was prepared to consider changes to a widely criticised new law that aims to rid social media of hate speech.
The legislation, which came into force on Jan. 1, can impose fines of up to 50 million euros ($60.1 million) on sites that fail to remove hate speech promptly, sparking concerns that Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms could block more content than necessary.
"Of course we're now looking at what consequences this law has and what happens, and we'll definitely evaluate it too," Merkel said in her weekly video podcast.
"It might be the case that we need to make changes to it but the basic approach that we need rules is absolutely right and necessary," she said, without giving further details.
