Germany tightens hate speech and gun laws to fight far-right extremism in wake of synagogue attack

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet has signed off on a raft of measures that in particular target weapons sales and hate speech online

The new legislation forces internet companies to flag problematic content, including death threats and incitement of racial hatred, to police

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A man holds a German national flag during an election campaign event for Germany’s far-right AfD. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:59pm, 30 Oct 2019Updated: 5:42am, 31 Oct 2019

The German government on Wednesday approved a draft law to crack down on the far right, three weeks after a deadly attack by an alleged neo-Nazi targeting a synagogue.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet signed off on a raft of measures that in particular target weapons sales and hate speech online.

The bill must still be approved by parliament.

“The threat from far-right extremism and far-right terrorism, and with them anti-Semitism, is high in Germany and we can’t stress it often enough,” Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told a news conference.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer. Photo: AP

Germany had already in 2017 passed one of the most restrictive laws in the world to combat racist and incendiary speech online, requiring social media giants to remove illegal content or risk fines of up to 50 million euros ($55.8 million).

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