German court rules against online hate-speech law

FILE PHOTO: A view of a sign above the entrance of the Google office, ahead of presentation of the detailed investment plan for Germany, in Berlin, Germany, August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German court ruled on Tuesday against a new law that obliges social media firms to block or delete criminal content and report particularly serious offences to the police, handing a partial victory to complainants Google and Meta.

Key provisions of the new anti-hate speech law, which allows user data to be passed to the police before it is clear a crime has been committed, violate European Union law, the Administrative Court in Cologne said in a statement.