Twitter must not block accounts for no reason

The topic of how US social networks such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram deal with German law has become increasingly controversial this year and one has the feeling that the respective companies are not only affected by the Network Enforcement Act, but also by the are pushed further and further into the narrow by numerous new court decisions to comply with German law in the best possible way.

Key Facts

US social networks must comply with German law, influenced by the Network Enforcement Act and new court rulings.
The Munich Higher Regional Court also permits service to Facebook in German.
The Dresden Regional Court has confirmed the ruling on the Twitter blocking of politician Dr. Dietrich Herrmann.
The court found the controversial tweet to be lawful and facetious.
A delivery problem was identified when the information on legal remedies was missing, but was later corrected.
There was no anticipation of the main proceedings in order to avoid a denial of justice.
The fast pace of social media influences legal decisions, especially before elections.

Just recently, the Higher Regional Court of Munich ruled that notifications to Facebook are also possible in German(see this article), and now it has been announced that the Regional Court of Dresden has confirmed its case law on Twitter.

I reported on the preliminary injunction proceedings in this post. Now there was a final verdict, with which the court upholds its verdict because of the blocking of the Twitter account of the Dresden GREEN politician Dr. Dietrich Herrmann.

In addition to the fact that the court also considers the tweet at issue to be lawful, since recognizably joking, the court also commented on another delivery problem that foreign companies occasionally try to attach. When the application for an injunction was lodged, the Court of First Instance forgot to attach an appeal notice, but later corrected this.

Another interesting point in the judgment is the following:

Nor is there any anticipation of the main proceedings, since the reference to the main proceedings would amount to a denial of justice in view of the speed of information on social media and the forthcoming state election at the time.

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.