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I mostly agree with your points, but there’s one form of censorship that exists in Germany today: internet censorship driven by the commercial interests of righ

I mostly agree with your points, but there’s one form of censorship that exists in Germany today: internet censorship driven by the commercial interests of right holders and implemented by the major internet service providers. In short: illegal streaming sites can be blocked for access. Some people might disagree that it isn’t a form of censorship, but it fits the bill: blocking access to information on the sole discretion of 3rd party pursuing its own interests.

oezi 10mo ago
I am not sure this counts as censorship. But I agree that copyright violations are likely policed (through copyright holders and their lawyers) more strictly in Germany than hate speech.
- amypetrik8 10mo ago
  well you can see some of the 60 minutes piece here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/germany-online-hate-speech-prosecution-60-minutes/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/germany-online-hate-speech-pros... basically idea is "go after trolls". who likes trolls? nobody. at a glance should upset no-one. Okay.. now ask.. what does a troll mean to you, mean to me, mean to the people in power. It's a slippery slope you see, the definition of troll inevitably growing broader with time to cover all forms of wrongthink. Then there's the other part of it, severity of punishment in ratio to a few words typed. Now the interesting thing here is it would be very easy to crack open a neighbor's wifi crypto, forge a MAC address, use a clean system/browser fingerprint such as a thrift store laptop, and now that neighbor you don't like is in hot water. The problem with such rules is ironically, with the intent to stop trolls, in fact supercharge trolling potential
- viktorcode 10mo ago
  Germany does have piracy policing for torrents, for instance. Access is not blocked though, and thus I don't consider fines for torrenting to be an act of censorship.

oezi 10mo ago

I am not sure this counts as censorship. But I agree that copyright violations are likely policed (through copyright holders and their lawyers) more strictly in Germany than hate speech.

amypetrik8 10mo ago
well you can see some of the 60 minutes piece here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/germany-online-hate-speech-prosecution-60-minutes/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/germany-online-hate-speech-pros... basically idea is "go after trolls". who likes trolls? nobody. at a glance should upset no-one. Okay.. now ask.. what does a troll mean to you, mean to me, mean to the people in power. It's a slippery slope you see, the definition of troll inevitably growing broader with time to cover all forms of wrongthink. Then there's the other part of it, severity of punishment in ratio to a few words typed. Now the interesting thing here is it would be very easy to crack open a neighbor's wifi crypto, forge a MAC address, use a clean system/browser fingerprint such as a thrift store laptop, and now that neighbor you don't like is in hot water. The problem with such rules is ironically, with the intent to stop trolls, in fact supercharge trolling potential
viktorcode 10mo ago
Germany does have piracy policing for torrents, for instance. Access is not blocked though, and thus I don't consider fines for torrenting to be an act of censorship.