Germany’s Minister of Justice expressed anger at Facebook for allowing Holocaust denial to be circulated on the site. Photo: Wikipedia.

Germany’s Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection attacked social media giant Facebook for allowing the circulation of Holocaust denial, Israel’s Channel 2 reported on Sunday.

Minister Heiko Maas said Facebook’s lax policing of anti-Jewish hate amounted to a violation of German law, and demanded that Facebook differentiate between what it allows in the United States and what it allows in Germany.

“Holocaust denial and racial incitement are crimes in Germany, and it doesn’t matter if they are uploaded to Facebook or said in the marketplace,” said Maas.

His comments came following a wave of extremist, right-wing protests against the absorption of immigrants across cities in Germany. The demonstrations reached their peak last week, when neo-Nazi protesters chanted “Heil Hitler” at a police officer in the city of Heidenau.

Maas said he wrote a sharply worded letter to Richard Allen, Facebook’s director of policy in Europe, requesting a meeting to discuss claims that Facebook ignores reports from users about Holocaust denial and racial incitement.

“If Facebook wants to do business in Germany, it has to comply with German laws, and it doesn’t matter whether, for historical reasons, we have more restrictive standards on freedom of speech than the U.S.,” Maas wrote.