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From the Daily Caller: Just months after Vice President J.D. Vance admonished European officials for censoring citizens, a new German governing coalition is preparing to further crack down on free expression, according to Bild, a Berlin-based media outlet.
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) — three major German political parties — are forming their governing coalition to counter the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), which achieved its best-ever national results in February’s federal elections. Now, the incoming coalition’s pact is proposing to further restrict free speech in Germany and create a media oversight body to monitor “information manipulation,” according to a translated report by Bild and a Sunday op-ed by Filipp Piatov, the deputy head of Bild’s politics department.
The particular section of the pact that pertains to speech is called “Dealing with Disinformation,” according to Bild. That provision of the plan reportedly states that “the deliberate dissemination of false factual claims is not covered by freedom of expression” and states that the nongovernmental media oversight entity will look to crack down on things like “information manipulation” and “hate” while “preserving freedom of expression.”
READ MORE from the Daily Caller.
In the Wall Street Journal op-ed, Piatov warned, “Germany’s establishment is fighting to reassert control over public discourse—especially online, where it’s losing ground. The main targets are social-media platforms and populist parties. The tools are censorship and criminal law.”
Piatov also wrote:
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck has filed more than 800 criminal complaints for online insults.
His was one of the loudest voices during the campaign calling for tighter regulation—censorship—of social networks. This isn’t really about fighting disinformation, which officials invariably claim is put forth only by the opposing side. It’s about regaining control, which they sense is slipping away.
The establishment blames tech platforms for its eroding influence. Elon Musk’s ownership of X and Mark Zuckerberg’s pivot toward the Trump administration have unsettled European regulators. German officials now view Silicon Valley less as a partner and more as a threat.
Mein neuer Kommentar im “Wall Street Journal”: Wie die neue Koalition im Namen der Freiheit die Meinungsfreiheit einschränken möchte. pic.twitter.com/HGGpqnsxtn
— Filipp Piatov (@fpiatov) April 28, 2025
During his speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, VP Vance minced no words as he warned about the growing censorship in Europe.
JUST IN: Vice President JD Vance rips European leaders to their faces at the Munich security conference, calls them out for criminalizing free speech.
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Vance specifically called out the United Kingdom for being the worst of them all.
“I wish I could say that this was a… pic.twitter.com/1bj9TKxP4q
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 14, 2025
WATCH: Vance takes sledgehammer to EU right to their face in Munich address
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