Berlin must tackle “online radicalization” and further tighten control over social media, the legislator said
A senior member of Germany’s Green Party has called for stricter measures to combat the spread of extremist content online, including the potential blocking of major social media platforms.
Anton Hofreiter, the chairman of the Bundestag’s European policy committee, voiced his concerns during a conversation with reporters from Funke Media Group on Saturday. He advocated for increased oversight of social media, potentially extending to the outright ban of certain platforms.
“One of the biggest problems of extremism is online radicalization,” Hofreiter emphasized, adding that the dissemination of “anti-constitutional content on the Internet” must be halted.
“We need to tackle the root of the problem and push back radicalization in digital space as well as in society,” he stressed.
Hofreiter argued that social media platforms that fail to comply with German laws and remove “extremist content” should face complete blocking, specifically citing X (formerly Twitter) as a potential target.
However, the MP acknowledged that platform blocking should only be a last resort measure, urging the government to avoid distancing itself from modern technology. Instead, he suggested the government leverage these technologies for its own benefit, such as deploying “digital agents” to infiltrate private groups on Telegram and identify potential criminals.
This call for a tougher stance on social media comes in the wake of a recent string of incidents, including a shooting outside the Israeli consulate in Munich and a deadly knifing rampage in Solingen.
Several countries have taken steps to rein in social media platforms in recent days. Earlier this week, Brazil imposed a blanket ban on X after the platform failed to comply with local political misinformation and hate speech laws by refusing to delete certain offensive messages.
In late August, Pavel Durov, the Russian tech entrepreneur and founder of Telegram, was arrested in Paris. He now faces multiple charges related to alleged complicity in drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, and various forms of child abuse, stemming from the actions of Telegram users. While Durov was eventually released on bail, he was ordered to remain in France while the investigation continues.