The Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf, together with the Society for Freedom Rights (GFF), has filed a lawsuit against Facebook and the parent company Meta at the Düsseldorf Regional Court. The reason for this is that the platform operator deleted the Facebook page of the non-profit association for cinematographic lovers in December 2021 without prior notice or justification. The social media presence probably fell victim to the controversial nipple ban on meta-networks: The film workshop had previously posted a program reference to the Oscar-nominated film “The Shaman and the Snake” with a still image on which a group only with Indians dressed in loincloths could be seen.
With the lawsuit filed by the Hausfeld law firm at the end of February, the GFF announced on Thursday that the site of the film workshop would be restored and protected from further blocking or deletion. “This is intended to strengthen artistic freedom on the Internet.” The workshop, which is important for the art scene, still doesn’t know “what Facebook’s accusation is, and accordingly can’t defend itself against it,” said Jürgen Bering, lawyer and process coordinator at the civil rights organization, explaining the initiative. The fact that even a cultural association has become a “victim of the arbitrary bans” shows: “It can affect anyone.”
Essential for attention
According to the GFF, the disappeared Facebook page, which was followed by more than 4,000 people, was the most important channel for advertising the film workshop. Due to the arbitrary deletion on the “market-dominant” social media platform, they can only disseminate their offers, such as film screenings and discussion groups, online to a limited extent. For artists in general, the Internet and social networks in particular are indispensable for gaining attention and making an impact. The fundamental right to freedom of art applies not only to private individuals, but also to non-profit associations.
The GFF complains that when service providers use algorithms to moderate content, errors are inevitable. Such program routines “impact on factors such as bare skin, but without understanding the context of a work”. The actions of the US group contradict the case law of the Federal Court of Justice from 2021, according to which Facebook must respect the fundamental rights of its users and enable them to take action against sanctions imposed. In a similar case, the GFF was able to achieve success for the civil society organization Goliathwatch last year: At that time, the Hamburg Higher Regional Court decided in summary proceedings that there were high hurdles for the blocking of a page, which had to be objectively and factually justified in a previous hearing. Facebook had to reactivate the corporate critics’ page.
(mki)
