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According to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, anyone who glorifies terror on the internet should leave the country. A terror expert finds this understandable – but warns.
Berlin – Hatred is germinating on the internet. Security authorities have long been observing that extremists are becoming more and more active on social media and are spreading propaganda. A veritable “extremist radicalization machine” is in operation, said NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul a few weeks ago: “Not only on the streets, but above all on the internet. And that’s where it gets dangerous.”
Islamists and Hamas supporters are becoming increasingly active on TikTok and Co.
In addition to right-wing extremists, radical Islamists and Hamas supporters are particularly active, especially since October 7 and the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. The Hamas-affiliated group Samidoun, for example, repeatedly publicly advocates the use of violence as a means of enforcing political views and supports associations that threaten attacks. Supporters of the Islamist scene in the Berlin district of Neukölln handed out sweets as an expression of joy over the Hamas terrorist attack.
Actions like these fuel real hate tirades online. Most recently, there was applause from radical Islamists on TikTok and X in particular after the fatal knife attack on a police officer in Mannheim. Experts fear that social media propaganda is increasing the risk of radicalization of individual perpetrators. Sulaiman A., the perpetrator of the attack in Mannheim, who comes from Afghanistan, was also considered well integrated for a long time.
“How could he become so radicalized? Where did his hatred come from?” asked Michael Mertens, co-head of the police union, in a recent interview with this editorial team. And he provided part of the answer himself: “The root of the evil also lies in social media, where violent videos are shown and hatred and incitement are propagated. From a political perspective, effective Countermeasures are coming.” Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is now planning such a countermeasure.
Nancy Faeser wants tougher deportation rules against terror supporters
If the SPD politician has her way, foreigners without regular residency status who glorify terrorist acts will no longer be allowed to live in Germany. Even a hate post on TikTok and the like is enough for them to have to leave the country. On Thursday (June 27), Faeser wants to introduce a corresponding tightening of the deportation law to the cabinet. There is already support from the Green coalition partner and partly also from the Union.
Terror expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project considers the move to be fundamentally understandable: “If a person in Germany only has a temporary residence status and makes such statements online, it cannot be expected that this will be accepted without consequences and that the general public will have to bear the risk that this person potentially represents,” he said in an interview with IPPEN.MEDIA.
Terror expert: Risk of individuals becoming violent is increasing
It can indeed be assumed that people who glorify or approve of terrorist attacks online are at a higher risk of becoming violent themselves. However, such a tightening of the deportation law as Faeser envisages also has pitfalls. “While this logic is understandable in principle, difficult legal questions will have to be answered in practice,” says expert Schindler.
For example: to what extent are statements still covered by freedom of speech – and when is the point reached where terrorist attacks are supported? “The question therefore arises as to how practically applicable the new regulation is, or whether it will lead to a potential wave of legal proceedings without actually having the deterrent effect that is obviously intended,” said Schindler.
![Serap Guler](https://www.merkur.de/assets/images/33/997/33997583-serap-gueler-2swulq6pbZBG.jpg)
Serap Güler, a CDU member of the Bundestag who generally approves of Faeser’s idea, also urges caution. “These tightening measures must now be implemented properly: Internet posts are spread quickly and with just a few clicks. People must know which behavior can lead to deportation,” said Güler in an interview with this editorial team. “I am curious to see whether the tightening measures will actually be implemented as they are. So far, the Interior Minister has mainly been notable for her announcements and lengthy review procedures.”
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