this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2026
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There's no right to free speech in Germany either. At least not in the sense that USA has.
PS: parent has edited comment and we are align with that
What? It's written in Germany's constitution (The "Grundgesetz", literally "Basic law") in article 5 that "Every person shall have the right freely to express and disseminate his opinions in speech, writing and pictures".
Case law makes a big difference here. Germany allows a number of significant exceptions and limitations to freedom of expression, while the right is closer to absolute in the USA.
So no, Germany does not have a right to free speech in the sense that the USA does. One significant structural difference is that the US constitution expresses it as a negative right: it starts with "Congress shall make no law" and lists several topics the government may not regulate. The German Grundgesetz establishes positive rights to both freedom of expression and dignity, implying that the government must actively protect both and resolve conflicts between them.
Keep in mind that someone actually has to go sue for that, it's usually not automatic, unless you do it right in front of a police officer trying to insult some public figure. In front of court it's weighed against freedom of expression. So there are plenty of examples were the "insult" becomes a "matter of fact". Like for example the matter of fact that AfD politician Bernd Höcke is a Nazi.
A significant chance of having to defend one's self in court is enough to keep most people from doing a thing. That's a major inconvenience, expense, and risk of serious consequences. It surely has a chilling effect on speech, or a civilizing effect on public discourse, depending on your perspective.
In the USA, I can write online that Trump advisor Stephen Miller is a Nazi, an asshole, and a xenophobe, and that I want him to kill himself, with no legal risk whatsoever. Nazi is the only one of those that even comes close to having an objective test for truth, which is actually what makes the statement protected under US law. If I called him a rapist or an embezzler, he might be able to sue for defamation.
The right to free speech in USA is quite strong and superseds most restrictions. Even opinions are treated as protected speech and libel/slander requires proving intent as well as prior knowledge that the information is false.
Compared to that, most countries with a right to speech come with responsibility and have restrictions (specially against religious/incendiary/hate speech or a mix of them as well as falsehoods such as Holocaust denial) on what you can do with your speech.
In USA, one (specially the 'right' ones) can basically go "I'm not touching you" and get into someone's face in name of speech while that is a clear incursion into ones private space in other countries
The freedom of speech in the USA is very individualistic, just like everything else. Little to no things are thought of in the sense of a community, it's all about what's in it for the individual. Traffic is even more car-centric than in Europe. Pure capitalism without a real safety net, because the individual may benefit from it by becoming a millionaire.
In Europe, the sense for community is much stronger, which is also reflected in how freedom of speech is protected in law; Express your thoughts freely, but do not impair the rights of other citizens.
Next you're going to say "but nothing like the cradle of free speech, the glorious UK", right? 🤣
UK is in shambles and then you call it out😂