Facebook Doesn't Understand German, at Least Not in Court

A German lawsuit over a photo showing a Syrian refugee with Chancellor Angela Merkel has put Facebook Inc.’s hate-speech policies under scrutiny. But the high-profile case has also shed light on complaints that the company tries to avoid and delay lawsuits in the country.

Chan-jo Jun, a lawyer for the Syrian refugee suing in Wuerzburg to stop Facebook using the picture, is one of a number of attorneys that says the company aggressively relies on procedural tactics to stay out of German courtrooms. He said Facebook routinely failed to reply to emails sent to its European headquarters in Dublin or even its German lawyers.