Bavarian media authority BLM is investigating whether Twitter (today X) and pharmaceutical company Biontech tried to prevent a public debate on vaccination patents in 2020.
“BLM will examine the facts of the case,” BLM President Dr Thorsten Schmiege (pictured) told German industry publication Cable!vision Europe. “Should BLM come to the conclusion that a concrete implementation of this collusion cannot be proven, there is no reason for proceedings. A violation of the prohibition of discrimination in the German State Media Treaty can only be ascertained by BLM on the basis of corresponding legal requirements if the violation was systematic and obvious.”
The Bavarian media authority is responsible for the supervision of Twitter in Germany.
Previously, the German Public Relations Council (DRPR) already issued a warning against Twitter/X and Biontech for violating the transparency requirement of the German Communication Code. Biontech had tried to evade a public discourse in the context of the “People’s Vaccine Day” 2020 by trying to get Twitter to “hide” its own account for two days in anticipation of an “online campaign against vaccine manufacturers” in order to make critical “comments etc. impossible”, DRPR explained its decision with reference to the results of investigations. Biontech had been in contact in this context with Twitter representatives in Berlin, among other places, as evidenced by email correspondence, according to DRPR.
With its warning, DRPR wants to indicate to those admonished and to the industry that in the specific case it recognises a tendency of damaging behaviour for public communication and the free formation of opinion by industry players and calls on them to refrain from such behaviour in the future.
In a statement quoted by DRPR, Biontech justifies the inactivation of the account with concrete security concerns and as a measure within the framework of cyber security.
