Germany's Merkel says
supports efforts against hate speech
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[November 23, 2016]
BERLIN (Reuters) - German
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday threw her support
behind efforts to fight the use of hate speech posted on
social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and
Google's YouTube. |
![](../images/112316pics/busine23.jpg)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a meeting
at the lower house of parliament Bundestag on 2017
budget in Berlin, Germany, November 23, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio
Bensch |
Under a program that runs until March, German authorities are
monitoring how many racist posts reported by users of social
media sites are deleted within 24 hours. Justice Minister Heiko
Maas has pledged to take legislative measures if the results are
still unsatisfactory by then.
"I support efforts by Justice Minister Heiko Maas and Interior
Minister Thomas de Maiziere to address hate speech, hate
commentaries, devastating things that are incompatible with
human dignity, and to do everything to prohibit it because it
contradicts our values," Merkel said in a speech to the
Bundestag lower house of parliament.
(Reporting by Madeline Chambers and Paul Carrel; Writing by
Sabine Siebold and Caroline Copley; Editing by Michelle Martin)
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