Twitter has restricted access to the account of a neo-Nazi group following a request by the German government. Users in Germany will no longer be able to view tweets made by the Saxony-based group, although they will still be visible to the rest of the world.

This marks the first time that the social networking site has acted on its local censorship policy, which it announced back in January this year.

“We announced the ability to withhold content back in [January]. We’re using it now for the first time re: a group deemed illegal in Germany,” tweeted Alex Macgillivary, Twitter’s general counsel, yesterday.

“Never want to withhold content; good to have tools to do it narrowly & transparently.”

Macgillivary’s second tweet included a copy of the official letter from the German government with its request that the account of the Besseres Hannover group be blocked. In the letter, authorities also asked that the group be prevented from making any new accounts on the site.

“The Ministry of the Interior of the State of Lower-Saxony in Germany has banned the organization ‘Besseres Hannover’’. It is disbanded, its assets are seized and all its accounts in social networks have to be closed immediately. The Public Prosecutor [State Attorney’s Office] has launched an investigation on suspicion of forming a criminal association,” read the letter.

Besseres Hannover had previously been designated as the “most active Neo-Nazi group within Lower Saxony by the state’s Ministry of the Interior. The group is suspected of making threats against immigrants in the state, and of distributing Nazi propaganda at local schools. In addition, it has also been accused of sending a threatening video to Aygul Ozkan, a German-born politician of Turkish ancestry.

Following an official investigation into its activities, around 20 criminal cases against members of the group are now pending.

Censorship Controversy

Twitter caused controversy back in January when it first announced its plans to censor accounts that were deemed offensive or illegal by local governments. In a moment of foreshadowing, Twitter singled out Neo-Nazi groups as one reason for its decision:

“As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression. Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there. Others are similar but, for historical or cultural reasons, restrict certain types of content, such as France or Germany, which ban pro-Nazi content.”

Twitter’s moves sparked huge controversy at the time, with numerous activists denouncing it, while several legal experts praised the move.

One of the most prominent voices against Twitter censorship was Reporters Without Borders, which sent a letter to Twitter executive James Dorsey expressing its dismay at the move:

“We are very disturbed by this decision, which is nothing other than local-level censorship carried out in cooperation with local authorities and in accordance with local legislation, which often violates international free speech standards.”

“Twitter’s position that freedom of expression is interpreted differently from country to country is inacceptable. This fundamental principle is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”