German intelligence chief warns against extremism on social media

Thomas Haldenwang, the new president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), has warned delegates in Germany's federal parliament against the radicalization of individuals through social media on Friday.

"Social media plays a special role in the development of extremism", Haldenwang told the parliamentary committee for the control of intelligence services (PKGr). He highlighted that online networks encouraged a "climate of disinhibition" and frequently functioned as a "form of accelerant for subsequent physical violence." Social media was routinely abused as an "instrument for opinion-formation, manipulation and mobilization" in this context.

"We must acknowledge that it was never as easy to celebrate hatred and fantasies of violence while remaining anonymous", Haldenwang said. He urged the operators of social media platforms to assume more responsibility for the issue and cooperate better with state authorities.

Haldenwang was formally promoted from vice-president to president of the BfV intelligence service this week. His predecessor Hans-Georg Maassen had himself sparked a heated public controversy with comments concerning far-right demonstrations in Chemnitz which ultimately culminated in his provisional retirement by the interior ministry.

While Haldenwang considered Islamist terrorism to "still be the biggest threat to security in Germany", his agency registered an increased threat level in all areas. Haldenwang referred to a high propensity to violence in right-wing extremism where "more than one in two" of the 24,000 extremists are regarded as violence-oriented by his agency.

In order to alleviate the situation, Haldenwang called for policymakers to endow the BfV with more capabilities to monitor communications. Security authorities were currently confronted with a "massive loss of insight" as a result of encryption- and anonymization software and needed to be endowed with the legal means to operate in a way which reflected modern technology.