We have discussed how Germany is extending its criminalization of speech to the Internet. Germany imposed a legal regime that would allow fining social networks such as Facebook up to 500,000 euros ($522,000) for each day the platform leaves a “fake news” story up without deleting it. The country fined YouTube to force the company to remove views that the government considers disinformation on COVID-19.
Germany has also targeted Elon Musk with threatened prosecution if he does not reestablish censorship systems at X.
None of this, mind you, has put a dent in the ranks of actual fascists and haters. Neo-Nazis are holding massive rallies by adopting new symbols and coded words, while Germany arrested a man on a train because he had a Hitler ringtone on his phone.
Last year, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser was upset that civil libertarians were calling her anti-free speech, so she tried to shut down a publication for a satirical meme.
For this reason, it was fitting that the recent World Forum was held in Berlin. I spoke in Berlin at the World Forum, where European leaders gathered in one of the most strikingly anti-free speech conferences I have attended. This year’s forum embraced the slogan “A New World Order with European Values.”
That “new world order” is based on an aggressive anti-free speech platform that has been enforced for years by the European Union. It is vividly evident in the latest crackdown in Germany.
According to the BKA, there were 10,732 crimes related to online hate speech committed last year—a record number and four times the crimes from 2021. It is an example of the insatiable appetite created by censorship as people seek to silence their critics or those with opposing views.
Stefan Niehoff, a 64-year-old former Bundeswehr sergeant was convicted for posting satirical images involving Nazi imagery. While the criminal case was eventually dropped, he was fined because the judge failed to find his actions sufficiently satirical.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister, Christian Democrat Herbert Reul seemed to relish the power: “Digital arsonists must not be able to hide behind their phones or computers. Anyone who thinks anything is allowed on social media is seriously mistaken.”
He added that “people have forgotten the difference between hate and opinion.” For those who cannot tell the difference, the solution is just to stay silent or risk a knock on the door. It is the very chilling effect reflected in the recent polling showing that most Germans are now uncomfortable sharing their views in public.
According to a poll of German citizens. Only 18% of Germans feel free to express their opinions in public. 59% of Germans did not even feel free to express themselves in private among friends. And just 17% felt free to express themselves online.
This is why some of us have praised Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their stands against European censorship.
Free speech is in a free fall in Europe and E.U. censors are trying to globalize their reach, including pressuring American companies to censor citizens. They are receiving the support of leading American politicians and pundits. If Americans want to see what awaits down this road, they need only look at Germany this month.
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Author: jonathanturley
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