German police teams have been raiding homes of citizens accused of “hateful content” on social media. The government has been ramping up investigations recently, aiming to prevent hateful speech from becoming political violence due to a social media speech restriction law.
The German Constitution prohibits hate speech, while maintaining protection of freedom of speech. The Network Enforcement Law (NeztDG) was passed in June of 2017, following an incident where politician, Walter Lübcke, was assassinated after facing harsh criticism online. The bill’s objective was to prevent “illegal content” and terrorism on social media from spreading to the real world again by restricting hate speech.
Germany requires social media companies with more than two million uses to monitor and remove harmful content within a 7 day window. Failing to do so will result in fines up to 50 million euros. Individuals who post this content can be fined up to 5 million euros, with repeat offenders in jeopardy of jail time and having their phones taken away.
Germany has 16 police units dedicated to arresting those who violate NeztDG. As of 2025, there have been 3,500 cases, with 750 Germans being prosecuted.
The German Government argues that free speech needs boundaries and by removing hateful content, political violence will be reduced. Citizens may not feel safe participating in political debates online due to the potential of online speech becoming physical violence. Only half of German citizens reported feeling comfortable engaging in political conversations according to CBS.
“Without boundaries, a very small group of people can rely on endless freedom to say anything that they want, while everyone else is scared and intimidated,” Josephine Ballon, CEO of HateAid commented in an interview with CBS.
“Freedom of speech does not include the right to insult people, incite hatred, or make death threats in Germany,” Reddit user Armagh3tton commented, “If I went to a town square and did these things in person, the police would intervene. Why should it be legal on the internet?”
However some people feel this may be infringing on their freedom of speech.
“Reposting is a crime? That’s peak dystopia,” Riley Lewis wrote on X.
“You’re standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to commit a genocide,” Nico Perrino said on X.
The NeztDG law may have influenced other countries to implement new laws monitoring social media. The Philippines passed a law in 2017 to penalize individuals who publish false information, which they claim could lead to hate and violence. Russia passed a bill to remove content seen as illegal which contributed to a full social media ban in recent years.
Germany’s Network Enforcement law aims to protect its citizens against harmful content, however some worry that the ban could be a slippery slope, leading to intrusive censorship.
