Facebook has already taken steps to get its fake news problem sorted out, but the social network may want to make solving this issue a bigger priority in the near future. Because if not, the company may face some big penalties in Germany.
Word has it that the German government is mulling a new law under which Facebook could be fined up to 500,000 euros ($522,000) per fake news story per day it's on the platform. The law would reportedly apply to other social networks as well.
"If after the relevant checks Facebook does not immediately, within 24 hours, delete the offending post then [it] must reckon with severe penalties of up to 500,000 euros," Germany's parliamentary chief of the Social Democrat party Thomas Oppermann said in an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, according to a report from Heat Street.
Under the law, "official and private complainants" would be able to flag news on Facebook as fake, Heat Street reported. Facebook and other affected social networks would have to create "in-country offices focused on responding to takedown demands," the report says.
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The bill, slated for consideration next year, is said to have bipartisan support. Lawmakers in the country are reportedly hoping it will prevent Russia from interfering in Germany's elections next year.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the potential law. The social network earlier this month outlined some of the first steps it's taking to fight fake news on the platform, which some believe swayed the US presidential election.
Facebook is still letting people share fake news, but will warn them if the story was "disputed by 3rd party fact-checkers." Flagged stories can no longer be turned into ads or promoted.