A Facebook logo on a computer screen is seen through a magnifying glass. (Photo : Reuters)
Giant tech companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter all entered an agreement with the German government which instructs them to remove hate speech on their respective online platforms within 24 hours after it was posted.
The recently signed agreement is part of the German government's drive to tear down racist sentiments on the online area. Offensive racial sentiments have inundated several online platforms following the surge of the European refugee crisis.
Germany recently agreed to accept thousands of refugees. Most of these refugees are leaving their native land in order to escape the devastation brought upon by an ongoing civil war and the growing threat of ISIS in Syria. Conflicts raging in some regions of Afghanistan and Iraq are also forcing residents to flee and seek refuge in European countries.
The influx of refugees trying to enter Germany has sparked the growing racial sentiments expressed on several online platforms, according to Tech Crunch.
After the signed agreement went public, a Facebook spokesperson told Tech Crunch, "There's no place for content such as hate speech, incitement or glorification of violence on Facebook. We urge people to use our reporting tools if they find content that they believe violates our standards so we can investigate and take swift action."
Google released a statement confirming its commitment to the views of the German government towards racial comments. The search giant added that is has a long standing policy of prohibiting extremism and hate speech on its platform.
According to RT, the German Justice Ministry reiterated that the measures it is trying to impose are not intended to violate free speech. Instead, it is there to make sure that German laws are also applied online.
