False statement on Facebook can be banned in court

The press chamber of the Frankfurt am Main Regional Court has ruled that the impression may not be created that Renate Künast, a member of the Bundestag for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, said: “Comma, if no violence is involved, sex with children is quite ok. That’s all right now”. This quote is wrong.

Key Facts

The Frankfurt am Main Regional Court ruled that a false quote from Renate Künast may not be disseminated.
The defendant posted a quote on Facebook with a picture of Renate Künast that was incorrect.
The quote implied that Ms. Künast accepts child abuse, which she never said.
The court confirmed an order requiring the defendant to refrain from quoting the quote.
The chamber found that the insertion of the quote violated Ms. Künast's right to privacy.
The quote was torn out of a political context and did not reveal the long period of time.
The decision protects the right to perception and freedom of expression in the political debate.

Renate Künast was a member of the Berlin House of Representatives in 1986. During a speech by another Member of Parliament during a debate on violence against children in families, Mrs Künast made a heckling on an intermediate question from a CDU member. He had asked the other MP how she felt about a motion by the Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia to lift the threat of punishment for sexual acts against children. According to the minutes of the debate, Renate Künast’s interjection was, “Comma, if no violence is involved.”

In March 2019, the defendant of yesterday’s decision posted on Facebook a post with a picture of Renate Künast. The text was also added: “Comma, if there is no violence in the game, sex with children is quite ok. Is good now”. Many comments with disparaging content were made under this post.

Following an urgent application by Renate Künast, the Landgericht Frankfurt am Main issued an order on 15 May 2019. In that statement, the defendant was prohibited from giving the impression, by means of that Facebook entry, that Ms MdB Künast had made the statement quoted therein. The defendant appealed against that decision. With yesterday’s judgment, the Press Chamber of the Regional Court upheld its decision of 15 May 2019, thereby rejecting the defendant’s opposition.

In its reasoning, the Board stated that the quotation was an incorrect factual decision. The average viewer understands the statement in the overall context, as if she had explained it, as if she had explained the statement shown next to The portrait of Mrs Künast. However, that impression given by the defendant was incorrect, since Ms Künast did not in fact say ‘… sex with children is quite ok. It’s good now.” The underpoffing of this false quotation infringes Ms Künast’s right to personality.

In addition, the defendant re-energised Renate Künast’s heckling made at the time before the Berlin Chamber of Deputies outside the context. The impression given to the average reader is that it is still a recent statement by Mrs Künast. However, the defendant did not disclose that the heckling in the political debate was more than 30 years ago.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.