Earlier today, Twitter blocked its first account, a German neo-Nazi group that German police say is a "criminal organization." This is the first time Twitter has ever censored a user's account. Unless, of course, you count Guy Adams, who was temporarily banned after NBC complained to Twitter about Adams's criticism of their Olympic coverage.

Back to the first official censorship: the group in question is called Besseres Hannover, and, since the ban only applies in Germany, the account is still viewable in the United States and elsewhere. According to the always reliable Google Translate, the group's recent tweets, the last of which was published on September 25, seem mostly benign. The group's webpage has been suspended or deleted.

Twitter first announced their ability to censor Tweets in individual countries this January, promising to disclose the information whenever they did. So far, they've kept their word; Twitter's general consul, Alex Macgillivray, tweeted out the news earlier today:

We announced the ability to withhold content back in Jan. We're using it now for the first time re: a group deemed illegal in Germany. — Alex Macgillivray (@amac) October 18, 2012

Never want to withhold content; good to have tools to do it narrowly & transparently chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi?sID…. More info support.twitter.com/articles/20169… — Alex Macgillivray (@amac) October 18, 2012

Twitter also posted the request from German police to ban the group.

On the one hand, neo-Nazis – fuck those guys, right? On the other hand, free speech, etc. Did Twitter do the right thing?

[via Daily Intel]