Ready for the next round: As of January 1, 2018, companies have more rights in the fight for reputation protection on the internet

Insults and offensive language on the internet are increasingly affecting companies, entailing hardly predictable damage to brand and reputation. Companies are receiving support, however: The German Network Search Act assists them in the fight against cyber-bullying from January onwards.

Cyber-bullying is already almost a part of everyday digital life. As shown by a representative study in May 2017, almost every eighth student and young adult has already experienced it. In the meantime, companies are now increasingly affected by cyber-bullying. In addition to defamations, smear campaigns, and fake news, the offenders' arsenal also includes hate comments, troll attacks, and insults on social networks. The danger for companies: Systematically designed, cyber-bullying quickly brings an entire brand and the company itself into disrepute as well as endangering innumerable jobs – after all, everything can be found and viewed by everyone on the global network.

But now companies are getting an ally in the fight for reputation protection on the Internet: The Network Search Act, which entered into force on October 1, 2017, is intended to help them to combat hate crime, false news, and other criminal contents on social networks in an even more targeted manner. To this end, it lays down binding standards for effective and transparent complaint management.

From January 2018 onwards, social network operators will be obligated, among other things, to take note of user complaints without delay and to check them for relevance under criminal law. Obviously punishable contents must then be deleted or blocked within 24 hours after receipt of the complaint, with the website operator not only having to inform users about every decision regarding their complaints, but also being able to justify this decision.

The Network Search Act strengthens the position of companies. Their arsenal for the fight to protect their reputation on the internet is, however, large and effective beyond that.

The preliminary injunction is a sharp-edged sword. Depending on the court, however, it must be applied for at the latest four to eight weeks after the reputation-damaging contribution has been noted, since otherwise the urgency will be denied. There is definitely a need to hurry in these cases. The effect is great, however: as a rule, a preliminary injunction is issued quickly by the courts and becomes effective immediately upon delivery to the opposing party. In addition, Google, Facebook & Co. take court decisions seriously and take far-reaching action when a preliminary injunction is issued.

Important fact: Cyber-bullying against companies is subject to court action and may have civil and criminal consequences for the offender. The challenge, however, is to catch the offender in the act – for example, by analyzing text samples by forensic linguists. Such procedures are complex, but they show that cyber-bullying can be stopped and reputation protection on the internet is possible!

Your contacts for questions about the new Network Enforcement Act and reputation protection on the internet is the IP, Media & Technology Practice Group. Dominik Eickemeier, Dr. Ruben A. Hofmann, and their team specialize in intellectual property law, in particular competition and trademark law, and the protection of corporate reputation on the internet.