The 13th Civil Senate of the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court has, in expedited proceedings, compelled Facebook to reinstate a post that had originally been deleted. The judges stated that, otherwise, the right to freedom of expression would be unduly restricted.
The plaintiff Facebook user had criticized a member of the Central Council of Muslims on his account, deeming it cowardly that this member had deleted certain information from the internet. This stemmed from the Central Council member having made negative statements about a critic of Islam.
Facebook deleted the plaintiff's criticism, asserting that the claims made were untrue and offensive, constituting 'hate speech'.
According to the Network Enforcement Act, internet platforms such as Facebook are obliged to delete unlawful comments. 'Hate speech' is not permitted to remain online. Furthermore, Facebook's terms and conditions prohibit 'hate speech'. However, it can sometimes be challenging to determine whether a comment is unlawful or not.
The Regional Court rejected the plaintiff's application to compel Facebook to reinstate the post. The plaintiff subsequently appealed to the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court. Having substantiated the facts he asserted, the plaintiff prevailed. Neither the presentation of accurate facts nor the assessment of an action as cowardly was deemed unlawful. The court ruled that the assessment constituted a permissible expression of opinion.
Facebook must also, when applying its terms and conditions in individual cases, weigh whether an individual's personality rights outweigh the protection of another person's freedom of expression. In the present case, the threshold for 'hate speech' had not yet been exceeded. The Senate further stated that the matter was urgent, necessitating a decision by way of an interim injunction. Otherwise, the plaintiff would face the risk of Facebook deleting subsequent, similar posts, thereby curtailing his ability to freely express his opinion.
Oldenburg Higher Regional Court, Ref. 13 W 16/19, Judgment of July 1, 2019
Source: Press release from the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court
