Twitter Blocks Germans’ Access to Neo-Nazi Group

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/19/world/europe/twitter-blocks-access-to-neo-nazi-group-in-germany.html

Twitter Blocks Germans’ Access to Neo-Nazi Group
By NICHOLAS KULISH

BERLIN — Twitter has blocked users in Germany from access to the account of a neo-Nazi group that is banned by the government here, renewing concerns about the future of free speech on the site.

The decision to block access to the group’s account here was the first time that Twitter acted on a policy known as “country withheld content,” announced in January, which the company says is meant to balance freedom of expression with compliance with local laws.

“Never want to withhold content; good to have tools to do it narrowly & transparently,” said Alex MacGillivray, the company’s general counsel, posted on Twitter Thursday morning in Germany. A German government spokesman confirmed in an e-mail that it was the first time the policy had been used.

German authorities in the state of Lower Saxony last month banned the group, Besseres Hannover, which means better Hannover. The German police requested in a letter posted online by Twitter that the group’s account be shut down entirely. Instead, only access in Germany was blocked.