Netzwerkrecht

The German Network Enforcement Act has been in force since 1st January 2018. It is supposed to ensure civil discourse in social networks but has been subject to criticism over whether it complies with constitutional and European law. Moreover, the debate surrounding it has made clear that fundamental questions of network compliant regulation have not yet been fully answered. Therefore, this study outlines the current legal position of social networks, devoting special attention to public and private patterns of regulation. Subsequently, it scrutinises the enforcement of laws against hate speech, which is especially relevant in terms of freedom of speech. With contributions by Roland Broemel, Matthias Cornils, Martin Eifert, Hubertus Gersdorf, Tobias Gostomzyk, Albert Ingold, Karl-Heinz Ladeur, Marc Liesching, Jörn Lüdemann, Ralf Müller-Terpitz, Dan Wielsch.