Germany blisters after Vance rebuke: We police speech to protect democracy
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lashed out at Vice President JD Vance on Saturday after the VP rebuked Germany and Europe for infringing on free speech.
Vance warns of the ‘threat from within’
On Friday, Vance spoke at the Munich Security Conference where he criticized European "entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation, who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion or, God forbid, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election.”
Vance was referring to Alternative for Germany (AFD), a Right-wing party that has gained enormous popularity countrywide but is being persecuted by Scholz’s Social Democratic Party.
The vice president said he was not as concerned about threats to Europe’s security by Russia or China as much as he was about a "threat from within — a retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.”
Scholz: Free speech means no insults and no Right wing
The remarks drew outrage from European leaders like Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy, who has censored Russian literature, banned free press, and arrested political dissidents. Scholz also blistered at Vance’s remarks, saying that “extreme right-wing” parties must be banned for democracy.
“Germany is a very strong democracy, and as a strong democracy, we are absolutely clear that the extreme Right should be out of political control and out of political decision-making processes, and that there will be no cooperation with them,” he said, referring to his rival party AfD. "We really reject any idea of cooperation between parties, other parties and this extreme Right parties.”
Scholz then asserted that “free speech in Europe means that you are not attacking others in ways that are against legislation and laws we have in our country."
Last month, Scholz made similar remarks to attendees at the World Economic Forum’s Davos summit.
"We have the freedom of speech in Europe and in Germany. Everyone can say what he wants, even if he is a billionaire,” Scholz said, referring to Elon Musk’s support for AfD. “And what we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme-Right positions.”
Germany’s persecution of political rivals
The Scholz administration has repeatedly branded the AfD party “extreme” and “racist” for wanting tighter immigration controls and has accused them of “neo-Nazism.” These allegations have been used to justify spying on AfD members, denying them firearm permits, and arresting party members. In 2023, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was among those who called for a ban on AfD. Following accusations of “racism” by the Scholz government and German media, AfD politicians were been beaten, nearly assassinated, and forced to go into hiding.
German prosecutors: Free speech ‘has its limits’
Germany has been intensifying its crackdown on free speech. On Sunday, Sharyn Alfonsi of CBS’ “60 Minutes” described accompanying six German police officers as they raided the home of a German taxpayer for posting a “racist cartoon” on social media and seized his cell phone and laptop. The raid was one of 50 others carried out simultaneously across the country. Alfonsi then interviewed Dr. Matthäus Fink, Svenja Meininghaus, and Frank-Michael Laue, state prosecutors who specialize in policing speech. Dr. Fink told Alfonsi that German citizens who are raided are often surprised to find out that they are guilty of a crime.
“They don't think it was illegal. And they say, ‘No, that's my free speech.’ And we say, ‘No, you have free speech as well, but it is also has its limits,’” said Dr. Fink.
The prosecutors then confirmed it is a crime in Germany to insult someone in public or post content on social media that is false—even if it is only a repost.
In August, Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA) launched an investigation into a user who called Left-wing politician Ricarda Lang “fat.” In July, German authorities jailed a woman and placed 140 others under investigation for making “hateful remarks” against a group of migrants who raped a 15-year-old girl.
In 2022, the BKA announced a “day of action” in which they arrested, investigated, and raided 100 Germans who had insulted officials online. The operation was conducted after police combed through 600 social media posts.
“Anyone who posts hate messages must expect the police to be at the door afterwards,” said BKA President Holger Münch in a statement at the time. Regarding free speech, Münch said German law is clear: “Freedom of expression reaches its limits as soon as defamation, insults and threats are involved.”
Hessian Attorney General Torsten Kunze said the prosecution of Germans over offensive social media posts is necessary to protect democracy.
“In order to prevent the withdrawal of those affected from reaching a level that endangers democracy, we are prosecuting these crimes consistently and in close cooperation with the public prosecutors of the other federal states,” said Kunze.
