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Facebook 'should help pay for illegal parties'
Published: 10 Aug 12 10:02 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20120810-44273.html
German state interior ministers want to make Facebook help pay for illegal mass parties organised via the network. Costly police operations have recently been launched to clear such parties.
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"A commercial internet platform that makes something like this possible also carries a large measure of responsibility," Reinhold Gall, interior minister of the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg, told the Südwest Presse newspaper.
"Facebook does not meet its responsibilities to protect its users, if the only difference between an invitation to friends and the whole world is just one mouse-click," Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann chimed in. "Facebook has a duty to protect its users and the public with appropriate warnings and preventative measures."
Gall stressed that internet users would not be let off the hook. "If, despite a ban, such parties take place anyway, and they are accompanied by vandalism, breaches of the peace, and ignoring dismissals, we will not limit any responsibility," he said. "Crimes and public order offences will be prosecuted hard."
Some mass parties have resulted from mistakes when hosts did not realise their invitations had reached the entire network, rather than just their friends. Others have seemed deliberate. A recent example was a party organised on a Lake Constance beach by 20-year-old Matthias Lohr, where 1,500 people accepted his public invitation.
Police got wind of the event and, fearing chaos, persuaded local authorities to ban it, but more than 150 people still showed up. It was classified as an illegal party, and Lohr ended up facing a fine of €227,000.
Rainer Wendt, chairman of the German Police Union (DPolG) told Bild: "If you invite people to a Facebook party that sparks a police intervention, you will have to pay the costs.
“But politicians should create the legal basis for making Facebook share the costs. The firm has made the platform available, and can't pretend it has nothing to do with it."
The Local/bk
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
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Your comments about this article:
Facebook only facilitates the connection between goers not the place they attend or the destruction of property, disturbances or the involvement of the police.
People that attend such illegal parties are the ones liable and responsible for their own actions.
The ignorance of the user , is also not the responsibility of the social network.
Also they should ask the various Labour Unions doing demonstations for pay hike..
That sounds sane, right?
Better yet, let's create a government office that has to look through every website before it can be on the internet and if they miss anything illegal, let's fine them.
Yup, this is a real practical idea.
@lucksi GEMA already does that with Youtube, and they even banned one I posted (at least it's banned within Germany) due to alleged copyright issues. The only problem is that I composed the music, wrote the libretto, and created the video. They can't seem to explain who else might have rights to it...but...it's still banned as of right now.
wa