Facebook has had its fair share of problems when it comes to fake news. Although Facebook has already taken steps to deal with this troubling issue, it might have to step up its game because there has been word that the German government is likely to set up a new law that could possible see Facebook being fined up to 500,000 Euros per fake news story, every day it appears on the social media platform. It seems that Facebook is not alone in its trouble as the law is going to apply to these other networks too.
“If, after the relevant checks Facebook does not immediately, within 24 hours, delete the offending post then [it] must reckon with severe penalties of up to 500,000 Euros,” Germany’s parliamentary Chief of the Social Democrat party, Thomas Oppermann, said in an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, according to a report from Heat Street.
Credits: The Telegraph
Heat Street has reported that this new law will mean that both “official and private complainants” are be able to flag news on Facebook as fake. Social media companies that are affected by the new law are forced to create “in-country offices focused on responding to takedown demands”.
Facebook has yet to respond to the potential law, but it has mentioned that there have been measures taken to fight the slew of fake news found on social media sites now. As of this moment, it appears that Facebook still allows for fake news to be shared, but it has placed warnings to say that stories disputed by third party fact checkers can never return to ads or be promoted again.
