The large-scale operation, carried out by both federal and state police, involved searches and the seizure of digital devices from suspects tied to the social media posts.
The raids are part of what German law enforcement refers to as annual “action days,” initiated after the 2017 adoption of Article 188 of the country’s Criminal Code, says the European Conservative. The law equates insults directed at politicians with online hate speech, allowing for penalties of up to three years in prison. Defamation and slander can carry sentences of up to five years.
While the operation is framed as a crackdown on “digital arsonists" it continues the trend of criminalizing dissent in Germany that was highlighted recently by US veep JD Vance during a trip to Europe
“Many people have forgotten the difference between hate and opinion,” said German politician Herbert Reul. “What you don’t do in the real world isn’t appropriate digitally either.”
Cases appear to involve people expressing frustration with government policies. Online commentary criticizing Berlin’s immigration stance have led to accusations of racism or Islamophobia.
The Green Party and its members have been active in using the law. Former Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck has filed over 800 complaints against individuals for online insults. One 64-year-old pensioner was convicted after calling Habeck “a complete idiot.” In another case, a man was fined €6,000 for calling Habeck “dirty” and former Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock “stupid.”
Members of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU party have also utilized Article 188.
Merz himself filed complaints leading to home searches, including against a nurse who called him an “asshole,” a Stuttgart man who referred to him as a “dirty drunk,” and a woman in a wheelchair who labeled him a “Nazi.” Though courts later ruled the searches and penalties unlawful, the individuals have not yet been compensated.
