Hate comments and co. - Cabinet decides to simplify deportation for glorification of terrorism
Foreign authorities in the states are supposed to be able to easier expel people who endorse terrorist acts in the future, potentially even sooner. The Federal Cabinet approved a corresponding draft from Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) on Wednesday, according to government sources.
According to this draft, an expulsion – that is, the revocation of a residence permit – should be possible after approval of a single terrorist criminal act. As distribution of content under this draft, creating corresponding content as well as marking a post with "Liked" in social networks such as YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok is supposed to be included.
Hate comments on the net and on the street: Terror glorification to lead to easier expulsion
The federal government is reacting to hate postings on the net, for example after the attack by the Islamic Hamas on Israel or the deadly knife attack during an islamcritical event in Mannheim. In the latter case, an Afghan killed a policeman at the end of May. The 25-year-old perpetrator had come to Germany as a child. He last had a residence permit because he had two children with a German citizen woman.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had announced the legislative amendment in response to the attack in Mannheim in a government statement. Faeser said on Wednesday: "We are taking a hard line against islamist and antisemitic hate criminality on the net."
To make the plan possible as quickly as possible, the draft is to be docked as an amending clause to a bill on the "Strengthening of early public participation in planning and approval procedures," which has no content-related connection to it. The spokesman for the Federal Interior Ministry, Maximilian Kall, pointed out that expulsions can be appealed against before administrative courts.
Migration law expert finds the plan questionable
The chairman of the Migration Law Working Group in the German Bar Association (DAV), Thomas Oberhauser, considers the now adopted draft from the Cabinet impractical. "One has to come up with a lot of legal imagination to define the setting of a 'Like' as distribution," said the lawyer. In addition, it is not always clear to laypeople whether it is a terrorist content in a particular case or not. This was evident, for example, in the case of the President of the Technical University of Berlin, Geraldine Rauch.
Rauch is criticized because she marked an antisemitic post on the platform X in the context of the Gaza War with a "Liked." It concerned a contribution with photos of demonstrators holding up a picture of Israeli Minister President Benjamin Netanyahu with a painted swastika. Rauch apologized and explained that she had liked the post because of its text and had not looked at the picture below it carefully enough.
Minister of the Interior Faeser's plan to expel people due to social media postings is the latest concerning development, says the spokesperson for the Left party in the German Bundestag, Clara Bünger. German politicians rightfully criticize authoritarian states like Turkey or Russia for persecuting or even imprisoning people over a "Like" in social media. However, the Federal Republic of Germany has long been moving in that direction.
Robert Habeck: Islam does not belong to Germany, but Islamism does not
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck welcomes the plan positively. "It's a great achievement and strength of our country that persecuted people can find shelter in Germany." However, anyone who undermines the liberal order by celebrating terrorism and cheering for murders has forfeited their right to stay. Therefore, the residency rights will be adjusted accordingly. "Islam belongs to Germany, but Islamism does not," Habeck added.
The deputy chairwoman of the Union faction, Andrea Lindholz (CSU), had wished for a more far-reaching reform. She said: "Given mass antisemitism and Caliphate demonstrations on German streets, every antisemitic and antidemocratic criminal act should lead to expulsion."
Lawyer: Control of "Liked" posts "completely insane"
Lawyer Oberhauser said it was "completely insane" to believe that immigration authorities would scan social media on a large scale for "Liked" posts in the future. It would be better if someone praised a terrorist act in the network, this could serve as an occasion for a conversation between a representative of the security authorities and the immigrant, "to determine if he is dangerous."
The federal chairman of the Police Union, Jochen Kopelke, welcomed the cabinet decision, which he described as a clear signal to terror sympathizers. He said the police and all other authorities must also be equipped so that a noticeable pressure of persecution can be built up.
In individual cases, personal involvement should also be checked, said Oberhauser, for example, if a Palestinian has lost anxiety about his children or relatives living in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli military operation. Even if an expulsion order is issued for reasons of danger prevention, it must be checked whether there are perhaps reasons for toleration.
The immigration office may now revoke the residence permit of individuals who endorse terrorist acts, even a single criminal act, and this includes distributing content, creating corresponding content, or liking a post pertaining to terrorism on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok. However, the plan to expel people based on social media postings has been met with skepticism by some, including migration law expert Thomas Oberhauser, who questions the practicality of defining a "like" as distribution and the ability for the average person to discern terrorist content.
