Anyone who shares unconstitutional content in their WhatsApp status must expect criminal prosecution. This has now been underlined by judges from the district court in Frankfurt am Main with a judgment.
This relates to a case from 2019, when a young man uploaded a one-minute Nazi propaganda video to his status. According to court documents, it glorified Adolf Hitler, the Hitler salute and the swastika. Within 24 hours, people whose mobile phone number he had saved and who in turn listed him as a contact in the address book were able to watch the clip.
Hate messages in WhatsApp status punishable
According to the district court, around 75 contacts actually watched the Nazi video. However, the number of potential viewers is not relevant to the verdict. The district court ruled that simply uploading and showing unconstitutional content in the WhatsApp status is a criminal offence. It doesn’t matter which way this happens. It is enough to show such content as a messenger service.
The accused was therefore found guilty of sedition. He was sentenced to a fine of 75 daily rates of 10 euros each.
