Published 23/12/2020
On 1 January 2021, the Combat Hate on the Internet Act (HiNBG), which was recently passed by the National Council, will come into force. If employees are exposed to hate posts (e.g. on Facebook) due to their employment contract, employers will have the independent right to seek injunctive relief and removal. To exercise this right, the hate post must be likely to significantly damage either the concerned employees’ employment opportunities or the employer’s reputation. The law is applicable to infringements committed after 31 December 2020.
In practice, the law can be applied to journalists to whom hate attacks are targeted due to their research on a socially polarising topic. However, it also covers volunteers (e.g. members of the volunteer fire brigade) and members of corporate bodies (e.g. mayors).
The assertion of the claim is neither dependent on the concerned employee’s consent, nor are employers obliged to assert it as part of their duty of care.
If your employees are confronted with hate on the Internet, we can support you to have illegal content removed quickly and efficiently.
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