Twitter blocks neo-Nazi account to users in Germany

[Gerald]

Twitter has blocked access to a neo-Nazi account at the request of the German government.

The tweets will no longer be visible to users in Germany although the rest of the world will be able to view them.

It is the first time the social networking site has implemented its local censorship policy, which came into force in January.

That policy allows it to block content in specific countries if tweets violate local laws.

Announcing the decision, Twitter's general counsel Alex Macgillivray said: "Never want to withhold content; good to have tools to do it narrowly and transparently."

In the tweet, he published links to the letter sent by German police, requesting the account be closed.

The letter outlined how the government had banned the organisation Besseres Hannover, (Better Hannover), a right-wing extremist group from Lower Saxony.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19988662

Note: 18 October 2012 Last updated at 10:29 GMT