A wave of coordinated police raids swept through Germany at dawn yesterday, not to apprehend violent offenders or disrupt terror plots, but to pursue individuals who dared to post politically incorrect remarks online.

The sweeping operation, led by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), targeted roughly 170 homes across the country. Phones, tablets, and computers were seized from suspects whose alleged offense was nothing more than expressing strong or offensive opinions, many aimed at politicians.

This annual crackdown, now a routine part of the German state’s law enforcement calendar, stems from paragraph 188 of the criminal code, updated in 2021 to criminalize insults against political figures.

Under this revision, a disparaging comment about a public official can carry a prison sentence of up to three years.

Germany’s internal surveillance of digital speech has only intensified. The BKA logged 10,732 online hate speech “offenses” last year; an eye-watering 34% spike from the year before, and four times higher than in 2021.

While the law is officially neutral, enforcement skews heavily against right-leaning users.

Citizens are not only subject to scrutiny but encouraged to join it.

What authorities define as hateful often encompasses crude jokes, memes, or insults. North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior minister, Herbert Reul, made no secret of the government’s philosophy: “Digital arsonists must not be able to hide behind their cell phones or computers. Anyone who thinks anything is allowed on social media is seriously mistaken.”

He added that “people have forgotten the difference between hate and opinion.”

The law’s reach is growing. In one case, Stefan Niehoff, covered extensively by Reclaim The Net, was hauled before the courts for calling the economy minister a “professional idiot.”

Though the initial charge was dropped, he was later fined €825 ($966) for sharing images authorities claimed were not sufficiently satirical in their use of Nazi-era symbolism, a punishable act unless the satire is deemed acceptable by the courts.

Similar forms of speech policing are now entrenched in the United Kingdom. Over the past year, a series of disturbing incidents have exposed just how far British authorities are willing to go to police thought.

Julian Foulkes, a retired police officer, was subjected to a house search by officers who inspected intimate family possessions and his bookshelf, which included titles like The War on the West by Douglas Murray.

He was arrested and interrogated for eight hours after posting concerns online about antisemitism.

Bodycam footage revealed officers tutting over his “very Brexity” reading material. Though Kent Police later issued an apology and £20,000 in compensation, the raid itself was not an isolated event.

Lucy Connolly’s story is even more severe. Following a gruesome multiple-child murder last summer, Connolly tweeted emotionally charged remarks about asylum seekers.

Though the post was quickly deleted, the state decided the offense warranted prison time: she was sentenced to two years and seven months.