How Germany’s ‘Hate Speech’ Law Will Put Control of Free Speech in Private Hands

German laws criminalizing hate speech and defamation are already some of the most restrictive in Europe, writes Nick Wallace in The Local. But a new bill going through the Bundestag, intended to combat hate speech, will create powerful incentives for online platforms to suppress content that is not even illegal, and inhibit the development of data-driven tools that offer more sophisticated ways of fighting extremism.