For insults on social networks, one can end up in a German prison
One such exception, for which liability up to criminal is provided, is Hate Speech, that is, hate speech, incitement to hatred. As "Russkaya Germaniya" notes, this includes racial hatred, hostility towards foreigners, anti-Semitism, discrimination against minorities, aggressive nationalism, and everything else that is in one way or another connected with intolerance or hostility towards a particular category of people.
The current German Criminal Code provides for criminal liability for insults, with a maximum penalty of up to one year's imprisonment, but courts usually impose fines. For incitement to ethnic hatred, one can be imprisoned for a term of 3 months to 5 years. For example, a Facebook user in 2015 was fined 4,800 euros for a comment: "I am for reopening the gas chambers and sending all the rabble there."
Coercion and threats are also punishable. In July 2020, the Bundestag passed a law toughening the punishment for threats online. If previously only threats to commit a crime, usually threats of murder, fell under the offense provided for in §241 of the Criminal Code, now threats to physical integrity, threats to personal freedom, threats of crimes against sexual integrity, as well as threats not only to the person themselves but also to their relatives are considered offenses.
For the above-mentioned threats online, one can receive up to 2 years' imprisonment. Internet users can also be held liable for insults, slander, and a number of other crimes.
In July 2020, amendments were also made to the law on improving law enforcement in social networks (NetzDG). Now an internet platform is not enough to simply delete a post or comment containing prohibited content; in addition, it is necessary to report the offense online to the Federal Criminal Police Office. The obligation to report is placed on the social networks themselves. To identify the violator, social networks must provide the authority with the user's IP address.
Not all types of crimes fell under the obligation to report, but only some. These are the following crimes: dissemination of propaganda materials and identification symbols of anti-constitutional organizations; preparation of a serious state-dangerous violent act or instruction for its commission; organization of criminal or terrorist communities, bullying of population groups, demonstration of violence, disturbance of public peace by threatening to commit a crime; encouragement and approval of criminal acts, distribution of pornographic materials involving children, threats.
This list is exhaustive and does not include, for example, such types of crimes as insults and slander. But in the future, social networks will notify the user of the possibility of filing a criminal complaint, and victims will be able to do this on their own.
According to the adopted amendments, the notification options in social networks about offenses should be easy to use. It is expected that the practical use of the innovations will lead to an increased workload, including for law enforcement agencies, and will require the creation of new jobs in the law enforcement system.