Facebook illegally took down racist posts and wrongly blocked accounts, a German court ruled on Thursday, because the social network failed to inform users or give a reason for shutting them down.
The Federal Court of Justice considered two cases dating from August 2018 in which Facebook deleted comments aimed at Muslim migrants and people of immigrant origin and suspended the users’ accounts. It ordered the company to restore the posts.
Facebook was not entitled to delete the posts or suspend accounts under its conditions of use, which specifically bar users from breaching “community standards” and ban “hate speech”, the court ruled.
The decision is striking because hate speech that threatens the peace or incites violence against minority groups is banned under German law.
The ruling complicates the work of antiracism campaigners who have demanded swift action from the social media company.
In Germany, there is a national election this year and already a fraught debate rages over toxic discourse on social networks.
In the UK, black England football stars suffered online racial abuse after missing penalties at the Euro 2020 football tournament, and in the US, gymnast Simone Biles came under attack when she pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics.
Facebook is entitled in principle to set standards that go above and beyond legal requirements and to reserve the right to delete posts and suspend accounts, the court said.
In its three-page summary, the court said that Facebook's terms of service regarding the deletion of posts and blocking accounts for breaching its community standards were “null and void".
This, it said, was because Facebook does not undertake to inform the user, even retrospectively, about the removal of an offensive post, give advance notice of plans to suspend an account, or offer the right of appeal.
Facebook said it would review the judgment to ensure that it can continue to effectively remove hate speech in Germany.
“We have zero tolerance for hate speech, and we’re committed to removing it from Facebook,” a company representative said.
The main post in question, which was reproduced in the court ruling, alleged that “Islamist immigrants” are free to murder with impunity in Germany.
Germany recently beefed up a hate-speech law that first came into force in 2018 and requires platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to police and take down toxic content.
Google this week requested a judicial review of a new provision in the law, known in Germany as NetzDB, saying it compromised privacy because data can be passed to law enforcement before it is evident a crime has been committed.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
The view from The National
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
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