Freedom of speech has been a controversial issue in Germany as the country tries to enforce European Union rules on hate speech.
While some people say they believe it makes the country safer, others say the government has gone too far.
Ira Spitzer reports from Berlin.
IN: "Germans seem to…"
OUT: SOC
DUR: 2:25
VO#1 Germans seem to be obsessed with Facebook this summer. But not just for its addictive nature. The social networking site has become a central player in an ongoing debate about online hate speech. Answer Koreng is a lawyer who's worked on the issue.
SOT, Ansgar Koreng, Lawyer
"The problem is how much hate speech can develop to threats in the real world. If you have these outpourings of hate in the internet, how much does that motivate people to go out and commit violent acts?"
VO#2 A new government brochure lists type of posts that could be punishable under law. And blaming societal problems like crime or housing shortages on an entire group of people such as refugees, could land you in trouble. But critics, like Felix Krautkraemer of the right wing newspaper Junge Freshet, say this has made people worry they may cross a line if they question the country's refugee policy.
SOT, Felix Krautkraemer, Online Editor, Junge Freiheit
"Then you have this problem, that instead of the government saying we take the concerns of the people seriously, we're going to be responsive to that, they've taken a different approach. They're trying to keep the lid even tighter on the pot, by trying to sanction expression, and this is frustrating people even more."
VO#3 Earlier this summer police raided sixty homes of people suspected of posting online hate speech. The crackdown as fueled a larger discussion here in Germany and elsewhere about where the limits of freedom of expression are in a country where it is considered a constitutional right.
VO#4 Individuals may also file their own complaints. Turkish President Reccep Tayyep Erdoganhas lodged a defamation charge here against the comic Jan Boehmermann over an insulting poem, which will test the limits of what is considered satire.
The Turkish government also recently complained that Germany's constitutional court had gone against the principles of freedom of expression by denying Erdogan the right to speak via video link at a large rally in Cologne.
UPSOUND COLOGNE RALLY
VO#5 Germany has an independent judiciary, which ultimately decides what is allowed. But beyond that, many people are wondering what they can– and can't – say here. Ira Spitzer, Berlin.
//ENDS