Facebook hiring hundreds to comply with hate speech law

Facebook is adding 500 more contractors in Germany to help comply with a new law targeting online hate speech, according to the Associated Press.

The new personnel, who will work for a service provider called CCC out of a new office in the western city of Essen that opened on Thursday, will be responsible for reviewing content posted to the social media platform.

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The new law, passed by the German parliament in June, requires social media sites to remove flagged content within 24 hours when the content is obviously illegal. Companies have a week to remove more ambiguous cases.

It threatens fines of up to 50 million euros ($59 million) for persistent failure to remove illegal content.

Critics say the law may force social media companies like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to determine what content is legal and what content is illegal — giving them too much potential leverage to interpret the legislation. Others say companies may remove too much content to avoid fines.

The new office, combined with an existent office in Berlin, will boost the number of people reviewing posts in Germany to more than 1,200 by the end of the year.