Transparency Report 2024 on addressing terrorist content online published
Year of issue 2025
Date of issue 2025.04.03
The Bundesnetzagentur has today published its Transparency and Monitoring Report for 2024 on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online in Germany. The Bundeskriminalamt has also published its Transparency Report on the application of the Terrorist Content Online Regulationon its website.
Removal orders
In 2024 the Bundeskriminalamt ordered the removal of terrorist content online by hosting service providers in 482 cases. This represents a significant increase in the use of a removal order compared with the previous year, when only 249 removal orders were issued.
In eleven cases, removal orders were transmitted to German hosting service providers from authorities in other countries. This was nine more than in the previous year. This increase is explained by the fact that a number of other European authorities became active in implementing the European Terrorist Content Online Regulation last year. This strengthens the search for terrorist content online. The largest number of removal orders by far involved hosting service providers in countries other than Germany.
If a hosting service provider does not comply with an order to remove terrorist content online, or not within the period specified by law, the Bundesnetzagentur may instigate administrative fine proceedings. In none of the cases last year was this necessary.
Specific measures
Where companies are exposed to terrorist content online, they are obliged to put specific measures in place that are effective in mitigating the dissemination of this type of content. The Bundesnetzagentur checks whether the measures implemented are appropriate and effective. As a result of these specific measures, a total of 16,771 items of content were removed by German hosting service providers in 2024. During the same period, 141 complaints were received from users against the removal of their content. In 20 cases the content was reinstated.
Background
The Terrorist Content Online Regulation is intended to contribute to the protection of public security in the European Union and prevent hosting services from being misused for terrorist purposes.
The reports have been published on the Bundesnetzagentur’s website at www.bundesnetzagentur.de/tco-en as well as on the Bundeskriminalamt’s website (in German) at https://www.bka.de/DE/UnsereAufgaben/Deliktsbereiche/PMK/TCO-VO/TCO-VO_node.html