German police officers shows a Nazi flag confiscated from local neo-Nazis recently. Photo / AP
German police officers shows a Nazi flag confiscated from local neo-Nazis recently. Photo / AP
Twitter has blocked an account used by neo-Nazis in what is thought to be the first time the site has implemented a local censorship policy it introduced this year.
The move came after German police approached the government in Berlin asking for help in silencing 'racial abuse' from a Hitler-worshippinggroup in Hanover. Several of its members are facing criminal charges for denying the Holocaust.
Berlin instructed lawyers to contact Twitter, which took action. But while the tweets will no longer be visible to users in Germany, the rest of the world will be able to view them.
Twitter's chief lawyer Alex Macgillivray said: "We are acting against a group deemed illegal in Germany.
"'Our goal is to respect our users' expression, while also taking into consideration applicable local laws."
