A Syrian refugee in Germany has hired a legal arm against the tech giant Facebook. Anas Modamani wants to force the social network to censor the diversions of his "selfie" with Angela Merkel, depicting him as a terrorist or a criminal. The trial takes place in a court in Wurzburg, Germany.
Anas Modamani unintentionally became a symbol of the reception by Germany of thousands of refugees. Without knowing who was the lady who was visiting his home in Berlin in September 2015, made a "selfie" of him with Angela Merkel. The image quickly became the embodiment of the policy of openness desired by the Chancellor.
But for those who reject this massive immigration, the photo showing Anas next to the culprit number one, Angela Merkel, became a propaganda tool. It was put on Facebook and presents the young man as a criminal or a terrorist and accuses him of a brutal attack against a tramp in Berlin and mixes it with the attack against the Christmas Market in the German capital with the comment: "These are Merkel's dead."
Opposing Facebook to avoid the propagation of false information
Facebook defends itself:
For Anas Modamani, it is a question of obtaining, with this civil lawsuit against Facebook, a decision in principle on the obligations of the social network to prevent the propagation of such false information which, of course, undermine the reputation of the concerned person.
Facebook defends itself by arguing that the two cliches in the heart of the procedure originally posted were erased following the steps taken by the lawyer of Modamani.
The Syrian youth's demand
But if these first publications have been removed, they have been shared by many users.The Syrian youth's lawyer wants Facebook to screen its network to remove all of these shares.
A requirement which, for the social network, would have important technical and financial consequences. And if it were to be imposed, they would probably prompt other procedures against Facebook.
The court of Wurzburg wants to decide on 7 March, unless an agreement is reached by then between the parties involved. More broadly, Facebook faces a lot of criticism in Germany.
