An MP from the German far-right AfD party was kicked off Twitter temporarily on Monday over an anti-Muslim tweet.
Police in Cologne are pandering to “barbaric, gang-raping Muslim hordes of men” with their tweet of New Year wishes in Arabic, AfD MP Beatrix von Storch wrote on social media.
Twitter suspended her account for 12 hours, according to the BBC. Von Storch reposted the message on Facebook, where she said also faced “censorship” because her account page was temporarily blocked.
The suspension comes after a new German law targeting hate speech online came into force in October. The “NetzDG” rules threaten social media companies with fines of up to €50 million if they fail to remove illegal hate speech fast enough.
Von Storch’s Twitter and Facebook accounts are now active. Twitter and Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
AfD leader Alice Weidel tweeted her support for von Storch, criticizing the “NetzDG censorship” behind the take down of the MP’s tweet.
Von Storch is now under investigation and could be criminally charged with incitement to hatred, according to the Guardian.
Judith Mischke contributed reporting.
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