Of course, everybody may express their opinion freely. Freedom of expression is a basic right (Article 5 of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz, GG)). This freedom ends, however, where the rights of others are violated. A statement may then constitute a criminal offence, particularly if it qualifies as an insult, as malicious gossip or defamation.

• A person commits insult(section 185 of the Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB)) if that person verbally abuses another person or says something to call the other person worthless. However, statements which are merely impolite or are made in a private environment (such as family) in most cases do not constitute insult.
• Malicious gossip (section 186 of the Criminal Code) means that a person asserts a fact about another person which cannot be proven true and which may violate the latter’s personal honour. In other words, something is insinuated about a person which the public might deem despicable, but which is not true, or which might be true but cannot be proven with any certainty.
• If the offender knows for certain that the alleged fact is not true, this even amounts to defamation (section 187 of the Criminal Code) which may result in a more severe penalty than malicious gossip.

Apart from insults, certain statements which have a threatening effect may also be punishable.

• Coercion (section 240 of the Criminal Code) means that a person compels another person to act in a certain way, and in doing so either uses force or threatens something which the other person is scared of. In the context of the Internet this may, for instance, involve threatening to make public personal circumstances of the person affected (e.g. photos). It may also involve threats of violence against a person (e.g. beating) or against his or her belongings (e.g. damage to property). If, on the other hand, the offender's intent is to obtain money from the other person, this may constitute extortion.
• Threatening a person with a serious criminal offence being committed against him or her or against a person close to him or her is punishable. This may then constitute threat (section 241 of the Criminal Code).
• Extortion(section 253 of the Criminal Code) presupposes that the offender uses force against an object or threatens something which the other person is scared of, in order to coerce this person into surrendering assets (such as money) to the offender. This includes cases where surreptitious installation of malware on a computer leads to the encryption of the operation system and the hard drives, and payment of a sum of money is then demanded to have the computer unlocked.

Often, it is only a small step from something being “annoying” to it being “threatening”: Cyberstalking may place a heavy burden on those affected.

• Cyberstalking is described as harassment of a person on the Internet. It may take many different forms, ranging from repeatedly contacting a person on social media platforms and via messenger services, collecting or publishing private information and images, all the way to identity theft.
  In most cases, the offenders are individuals from the affected persons’ private environment who stalk them online. Cyberstalking may constitute a criminal offence, for instance, if the offender, without being authorised to do so, obtains access to specially protected data (so-called data espionage (section 202a of the Criminal Code)) or if the offender stalks another person (section 238 (1) nos. 2 and 3 of the Criminal Code). More information on this topic can be found in our information sheet on stalking.

Hate on the Internet may also take the form of agitation against persons or groups. This includes, for example, publicly expressing hostility towards refugees or making a general insinuation that they are criminals. Some posts even call for violence against foreign residents. Such statements may constitute incitement to hatred, which may result in severe penalties (section 130 of the Criminal Code).

Incitement to hatred means that specific groups of the population or individuals belonging to such a group are verbally abused in a particularly offensive manner, maliciously maligned or defamed. The offence also covers statements suitable to incite hate against such groups or individuals. It also applies to calls for violent acts or for discriminatory treatment.

If an offender disseminates calls for the commission of criminal offences against other persons or threatens to commit certain criminal offences via the Internet, this may be punishable as public incitement to commit criminal offencesor (section 111 of the Criminal Code) as disturbing public peace by threatening to commit offences (section 126 of the Criminal Code).

Assistance available in the case of criminal offences in the digital space

• If the criminal content concerned was disseminated via a social network, report this to the network provider. The Network Enforcement Act (Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz, NetzDG) obliges providers of major social networks which have at least two million registered users in Germany to provide channels for reporting criminal content (Network Enforcement Act reporting form). Reported content must then be examined under German criminal law and be deleted if necessary. As a rule, such examination is preceded by an examination based on the provider's own guidelines (so-called community guidelines) which does not, however, involve an assessment under German criminal law. Criminal content should therefore be reported using the Network Enforcement Act reporting form because then additional statutory provisions apply, particularly provisions concerning deletion periods and notification of the person reporting the content. Persons who wish to be assisted in completing the Network Enforcement Act reporting form can turn to organisations such as Hate Aid.
• Inform the police as soon as possible. Regarding some criminal offences, a prerequisite for prosecuting and thus punishing the offender is that you file a request to prosecute. If you know who the offender is, you have to do so within three months. In most cases concerning insult, for instance, the police cannot prosecute unless a request to prosecute is filed. More information on this issue can be found here.
• As a general rule, anybody can file a criminal complaint about criminal offences committed on the Internet. It does not matter whether you yourself or your family members or friends are affected. The criminal offence concerned does not need to be targeted at you personally. Neither does the relevant hate speech need to be addressed to you. In most cases concerning insult, however, a request to prosecute by the person actually affected is required in order for the investigations to be continued.
• In addition, persons affected by violence on the Internet can move for a judicial protection order under the preconditions of the Act on Protection against Violence (Gewaltschutzgesetz).
• Make sure to secure evidence such as e-mails or screenshots of the relevant computer or smartphone displays. Likewise, you should secure the complete URLs of comments, posts, blog posts, profiles etc., for example in social media. You can find information here on how to take a screenshot which contains all relevant information, and how to secure evidence if you are affected by hate and violence on the Internet.
• If you are affected by cyberstalking: Ask your family members and friends to protect their privacy as well, in order to prevent them from unintentionally serving as a source of information for stalkers.
• Family members as well as friends and acquaintances can also help by reporting content, thus contributing to it being swiftly deleted. Moreover, they can publicly comment on posts and rectify any false information.
• Ask participants in online discussions, if any, to be available as witnesses, and make a note of their personal details.

• In any event: Do not hesitate to get help if you are scared or feel insecure, or if you have any questions. Friends and family members can help you. In addition, experts from counselling services can provide help and support. There are also special contact points for persons affected by hate and violence on the Internet, for example:

  • HateAid
    offers a wide range of support services to persons affected by digital violence (only in german). In addition to providing initial psychosocial counselling and funding for the costs of the proceedings, the organisation also offers assistance in filing criminal complaints and requests to prosecute. HateAid also files criminal complaints about unlawful content which is reported to it and provides information on criminal proceedings. Click here for an interview with the managing director of HateAid.
  • Hassmelden
    Content believed to be criminal may be reported to Hassmelden via an app, a Chrome plugin, a Telegram bot or here (only in german). This voluntary reporting point for hate speech on the Internet examines every report and, if necessary, forwards it to the public prosecutor's office (central cybercrime unit), which then investigates the offence. Confidential information can be sent via e-mail to meldung@hassmelden.de.
  • respect!
    Users can report all types of hate and violence on the Internet to respect! (only in german). respect! reports criminal posts to the platform operator and requests it to delete them. If a case involves incitement to hatred, the reporting point files a criminal complaint with the police. In cases of insult, malicious gossip or defamation, respect! assists those affected in filing criminal complaints themselves. If respect! is not able to provide help, the user concerned is referred to other institutions for help and counselling. Incidents can also be reported here.

Further information

Have you experienced Internet crime and do you wish to receive psychological support? You will find information and contact details here. In addition, various counselling services will be able to provide you with psychological support or to refer you to other services offering such support.

In the case of criminal offences against personal honour committed online, any insults or untrue allegations involved will remain visible for a long time and to a large number of people. This creates a high level of suffering for the persons affected. The objective here is to have the content deleted, to obtain court injunctions and to assert compensation claims.

In addition to support by counselling services, it may sometimes be advisable to seek advice from a lawyer. You can search for a lawyer here.

You will find information on how to file a criminal complaint here. If criminal proceedings are instituted, you can, under certain circumstances, join them as a private accessory prosecutor. You will find information on criminal proceedings and private accessory prosecution here.