Germany’s strict laws on online speech have drawn criticism from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who described them as “Orwellian” and warned that they could severely impact European-U.S. relations.
His remarks were made in response to a “60 Minutes” interview with German prosecutors, in which they confirmed that insulting someone in public or online is a crime, with harsher penalties for internet-based offenses.
“Is it a crime to insult somebody in public?” asked the CBS journalist, to which all three lawyers replied, “Yes.”
They confirm it is also a crime to insult someone online “and the crime could be even higher if you insult them on the internet because it stays there.”
They were then asked: “If someone posts something that’s not true, and then somebody else reposts it or likes it, are they committing a crime?”
“In the case of reposting, it is a crime as well,” one replies, “because the reader cannot distinguish whether you have just invented this or just reposted it. So, it’s the same for us.”
Insulting someone is not a crime, and criminalizing speech is going to put real strain on European-US relationships.
This is Orwellian, and everyone in Europe and the US must reject this lunacy. https://t.co/WZSifyDWMr
— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 17, 2025The U.S. vice president accused Germany of effectively “criminalizing speech” and urged people across the continent to “reject this lunacy.”
The debate over free speech in Germany has intensified following a series of high-profile prosecutions targeting individuals for online remarks about politicians. A recent case that has drawn widespread attention involves Daniel Kindl, a man from Lower Saxony, who was fined €1,800 for allegedly insulting Green Party MP Janosch Dahmen in an online post. Kindl had responded to Dahmen’s remarks about an alleged attack on Economic Minister Robert Habeck, which was later revealed to be exaggerated. His comment, which roughly translates to “Cry quietly, you rag, this is just the beginning,” was deemed a criminal insult by prosecutors, leading to a penalty order against him.
Kindl has refused to pay the fine and is challenging the case in court. He argues that his statement was meant as a critique of government policies affecting rural citizens, particularly farmers, who have been vocal in their opposition to the government’s environmental regulations.
Kindl’s case is one of many recent examples of Germany’s aggressive enforcement of online speech laws. Other incidents include a pensioner fined €800 for a satirical comment about Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, jokingly suggesting she had hit her head too many times on a trampoline. Another pensioner was arrested for retweeting a meme calling Green Economy Minister Robert Habeck an “idiot,” which was classified as a “politically motivated right-wing crime.” A Bavarian woman was fined €6,000 for calling Baerbock a “hollow brat” on social media, though she was later acquitted after a lengthy legal battle. A civil engineer was sentenced to 30 days in jail for failing to appeal a fine after calling SPD politician Manuela Schwesig a “storyteller.”
Police also raided the home of a 14-year-old boy in Bavaria for posting the hashtag #AllesFürDeutschland — or “Everything/All for Germany.” A man was fined €5,000 for describing a judge as “obviously mentally disturbed” after the judge handed down a light sentence to a Syrian man convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl.
Critics argue that these prosecutions reflect an alarming trend of state overreach, stifling political discourse and dissent. A November 2024 survey by Insa revealed that 74 percent of Germans believe people are increasingly self-censoring due to fear of legal repercussions. Younger individuals and those with right-leaning political views were found to be the most affected.
