German government ministers agreed on draft legislation to simplify the deportation process for individuals who express support for terrorism, Germany’s Interior Ministry said.
The move comes in reaction to online hate posts that celebrated the Hamas attack on Israel and other terrorist incidents.
The draft law would allow deportation if someone is considered to have approved of a single terrorist offense. No criminal conviction would be necessary for an individual to be deported.
Expressions of approval could include not only posting of hateful content on social media but also marking a hate post with a “like” or other positive reaction on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz had announced plans to change the law, allowing deportations to countries such as Afghanistan and Syria, after a deadly knife attack on an anti-Islam rally in Mannheim, in which a policeman died.
Promoting and praising terrorism was a “slap in the face for the victims, their families and our democratic order”, he said.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser put forward the changes, arguing that Berlin was “taking tough action against Islamist and anti-Semitic hate crime online.”
The draft law, which still needs to be passed by parliament, says that glorifying acts of terror online fuels a climate of violence, which can encourage extremists and violent criminals.
