This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Consultation and Notification of the German "NetzDG" law'.

Document 24.1
 (GROW)
From:
 (GROW)
Sent:
31 March 2017 16:29
To:
GROW SERVICES NOTIFICATIONS; 
 (CNECT); JUST C3 GROW 
NOTIFICATIONS; JUST E2; 
 (GROW); JUST C2
Cc:
 (CNECT); 
 (GROW); 
 
 (GROW); 
 (JUST); 
 (CNECT); 
 (CNECT); 
 (CNECT)
Subject:
Notifications 2017/127/D Act improving law enforcement on social networks 
Attachments:
2015-305-D DE re to EC comments.pdf; 2015-305-D EC comments.pdf
Dear colleagues, 
We received  notification 2017127/D  "Act improving law enforcement on social networks"   under  the 
Directive (EU) 2015/1535 notification procedure. 
The draft Law aims at ensuring that criminal content published on digital social networks, such as hate
speech, abuse, defamation or fake news, is promptly removed by social network operators. According to
the notification message, the definition of its scope would ensure that the draft applies only to operators
of large influential digital social networks such as YouTube, Facebook or Twitter.  
The notified draft contains the following provisions: 
- Standards for effective complaint management to ensure that social networks delete blatantly
criminal content 24 hours after receipt of a complaint from a user. The draft makes it compulsory
to have effective, transparent methods for the prompt deletion of illegal content, including user-
friendly mechanisms for registering complaints.
- Social networks shall be legally bound to file quarterly reports on how they dealt with complaints
regarding potentially criminal content. The reports shall contain statistics on the volume of
complaints and information on the networks' decision-making process. They shall also provide
information on the complaints team responsible for processing the complaints. The reports must
be readily retrievable on the social network's homepage.
- Social networks may be imposed a fine of up to EUR 5 million in the following cases: deliberate or
negligent non-compliance with the reporting obligation, violation of the obligation to have
effective complaint management, violation of the obligation to appoint a person on German soil
authorised to accept service and an authorised recipient on German soil for requests for
information from law enforcement authorities.
The notification message and the draft text concerning this notification can be found on
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-
databases/tris/en/search/?trisaction=search.detail&year=2017&num=127 
The notification under subject come to develop further the obligations regarding intermediaries' liability 
contained in Article 10 of the German Telemedia Act (TMG). This provision was commented by the
Commission when it was amended and notified under previous notification 2015/305/D, in relation with 
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the liability exemption contained in Article 14 of the E-commerce Directive. The exchange between EC and
DE is attached. 
The latest text of the German Telemedia Act is available at https://www.gesetze-im-
internet.de/tmg/BJNR017910007.html 
In the event you would have any comments, I would be grateful for your feedback by 28/4/2017  (final 
deadline for written contributions). In the absence of a reply by the above-mentioned deadline, we will 
consider that you have no comments on the notified draft. 
Should you have any questions of understanding (interim comments), please send them to me  as soon as 
possible
 before the deadline indicated above. 

Thank you very much in advance. 
Kind regards, 
 
 
European Commission 
DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs 

Unit B2 - Prevention of Technical Barriers 
 
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium 
+32-2-29-
 
 
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