German federal police (BKA) carried out pre-dawn raids on 170 homes across the country today targeting individuals accused of posting extremist hate speech and insulting politicians online.
The action focused primarily on far-right content but also included cases involving insults toward politicians and some religiously or left-wing motivated hate.
North Rhine-Westphalia saw the most operations with 14 searches among around 130 ongoing investigations.
In 2024 the BKA registered over 10 700 hate-related offences online, a 34 percent rise from 2023.
State leaders emphasised that digital speech must meet the same standards as conduct in public spaces.
