News

Orderly fine of 100,000 euros imposed on YouTube

The Dresden Higher Regional Court has imposed an administrative fine of 100,000 euros on YouTube because the platform only complied with the court order to restore a deleted video and make it accessible again after a significant delay. In this context, YouTube invokes its goal of preventing misinformation related to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Questionable video reports protests against infection control in Switzerland

The deleted video reported protests against infection control measures taken in Switzerland to contain the pandemic, according to the newspaper DIE WELT. YouTube deleted it in late January, citing its policies to prevent the spread of misinformation related to Covid-19. The user who had uploaded the video subsequently took action against YouTube and obtained a court order in his favor: the court found that the change in policy had not been effective because it lacked an amendment agreement. However, such an amendment agreement was required; the mere announcement that changes could be made to the concluded agreement in the future was not sufficient. As a consequence, YouTube was ordered to immediately restore the video and make it accessible.

However, the platform, which belongs to the Google group Alphabet, did not comply with this request immediately, but only after a considerable delay: The injunction against YouTube was issued on April 20, but the video was not available again until May 14. This delay is the reason for the fine now imposed.

The user who uploaded the video was represented by Joachim Steinhöfel, a lawyer anchored in the far-right scene, according to several media reports. Steinhöfel spoke of a “historically high administrative fine” with regard to the court’s decision, which makes it clear that “court decisions are to be observed without restriction,” regardless of the positioning of the respective platform.

YouTube wants to focus on trustworthy information

A YouTube spokesman told WELT am Sonntag that the platform sees itself as responsible for providing trustworthy information to its users. The decision in the individual case would be respected, but also reviewed accordingly. It therefore remains to be seen whether YouTube will take action against the fine imposed.

Simon Lüthje

I am co-founder of this blog and am very interested in everything that has to do with technology, but I also like to play games. I was born in Hamburg, but now I live in Bad Segeberg.

Related Articles

Neue Antworten laden...

Avatar of Basic Tutorials
Basic Tutorials

Neues Mitglied

1,955 Beiträge 949 Likes

The Dresden Higher Regional Court has imposed an administrative fine of 100,000 euros on YouTube because the platform only complied with the court order to restore a deleted video and make it accessible again after a significant delay. In this context, YouTube invokes its goal of preventing misinformation related to the Covid 19 pandemic. Questionable … (Weiterlesen...)

Antworten Like

Back to top button