Alice Weidel, the leader of the AfD in the Bundestag, succeeded in her case against Facebook at the Hamburg district court on Monday, according to a party press release.
The top AfD official took Facebook to court over the social media giant’s refusal to willingly remove a number of comments posted on its social network, including a comment which branded Dr. Weidel a “Nazi bastard.”
The court issued a preliminary injunction and could demand Facebook to pay Dr. Weidel up to 250,000 euros (around US$300,000) in the case of infringement.
READ MORE: German Court Sides With Eurosceptic Politician in Abuse Case Against Facebook
The press release went on to claim that Facebook isn’t treating AfD politicians fairly on its social media platform, and described Germany’s NetzDG hate speech law – which came into effect last October – as “completely useless.”
“It is not only clear that AfD politicians are treated fairly in the network [Facebook], but also that the NetzDG is completely useless. Facebook was unable to remove the offending comment so that it was no longer available in Germany. Although it was deleted, it was still visible to German users who accessed Facebook via foreign IP addresses,” the press release reads.
AfD politicians previously criticized the law for restricting freedom of speech while not providing any material benefits in countering hate speech. The law threatens companies who don’t remove “obviously illegal” content with hefty fines, and also aims to tackle fake news and hate speech.
READ MORE: AfD: German Hate Speech Law Destroys Freedom of Speech, Bans Political Dissent
