Germany: Draft Act to Combat Digital Violence

In brief

This article is of practical relevance for technology companies operating in Germany - providers of online platforms (social networks, video-sharing platforms, marketplaces), web-hosting and cloud-hosting services, and internet access providers (IAPs). On 16 April 2026, the German Federal Ministry of Justice (“BMJ”) published the ministerial draft of an Act to Strengthen Civil and Criminal Protection against Digital Violence (“GgdG-E”). Industry submissions are due by 22 May 2026.

The draft proposes three new criminal offenses targeting deepfakes, image-based sexual abuse and digital surveillance, and — more importantly for the day-to-day operations of intermediaries — a stand-alone civil-law regime allowing affected individuals to obtain disclosure of user identity, evidence-preservation orders, and judicial account suspensions. Non-EU social networks must continue to appoint a domestic service agent on pain of fines of up to EUR 500,000 (EUR 5 million for legal entities). The civil-law regime will contain specific deletion duties and procedural requirements that materially change how intermediaries must handle user data in this context.

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