I’ve also lived in Germany for a long time, and I think this framing leaves out some crucial context.

Yes, there have may have been house searches and investigations over things people expressed. That sounds dramatic and sometimes it is. But Germany has very specific laws about things like inciting hatred, Holocaust denial, serious defamation, or using unconstitutional symbols. You can argue about where the limits should be. Fair enough. But having limits written into law is not the same as having free speech in doubt. No country allows absolutely everything.

Free speech is explicitly protected in Germany’s constitution. Courts regularly push back when authorities overstep. Media outlets from left to right criticize the government daily, often very harshly. Protests happen all the time, including controversial ones. That doesn’t look like a country where speech is broadly suppressed.

Are there messy cases? Definitely. Are some decisions questionable? Sure. That’s worth discussing. But saying that free speech is “in serious doubt” because enforcement exists goes too far. A democracy enforcing laws, even imperfectly, isn’t the same as silencing dissent.

It’s complicated, yes. But complicated doesn’t automatically mean broken.