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Comment by chmod775 | Hacker News Reader

There's no new "hate speech law". There's only new law that punishes sites for failing to remove content that was already illegal. For this they have up to 24 hours, or a week if it is a more complex matter.

That article generally misrepresents German laws, making them seem more draconian than they actually are.

For instance displaying a Swastika is perfectly legal if you don't "objectively" use it to "promote (the) national socialism".

The German definition of Volksverhetzung, often translated as "hate speech", is also quite a bit a narrower than what your average native english speaker would understand as hate speech: basically, under that law, ONLY hate speech against a group or individual targeting them for belonging to a certain ethnic group, nationality, or religion is illegal IF it is disseminated in a way that has the potential to disrupt public peace.

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> displaying a Swastika is perfectly legal if you don't "objectively" use it to "promote (the) national socialism".

It seems that only applies if your work falls clearly within a few categories of exceptions. For example, Wolfenstein, a game about a Jewish commando fighting against the Nazis, was censored in Germany to comply with the law.

> "In Germany, we've removed all Nazi symbols and references. Unlike films and other works of art, video games in Germany are forbidden to use such symbols and references as they are classified in Germany as toys and not media art." The illegal display of Nazi imagery is punishable by three years in prison in Germany. (http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27488254)

Even "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" struggled to be published uncensored. They eventually succeeded in convincing the culture ministry to allow publication, but it's not enough to be anti-Nazi.

>For example, Wolfenstein, a game about a Jewish commando fighting against the Nazis, was censored in Germany to comply with the law.

Art, sciences and education are obviously exempt from these rules and while many pretty much assumed games to be art a recent court confirmed that games would be ruled as art.

The reason why Wolfenstein was censored is because of the USK, the board behind age ratings in germany, which has in the past been rather strict with nazi symbolism, regardless of context. They've softened up a lot and would wave through games with nazi symbolism like the newer Wolfenstein titles, however publishers don't want to take the chances of having to reapply for rating and simply already submit a censored version before it even hits their desks.

> For instance displaying a Swastika is perfectly legal if you don't "objectively" use it to "promote (the) national socialism".

Yet the chilling effects are real, leading to silly examples of censorship. Particularly in new mediums such as video games - most famously Wolfenstein 3D. The Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien (BPjM) / Jugendschutzgesetz (JuSchG) has made some questionable decisions in the past.

I agree that "hate speech" has a different connotation than Volksverhetzung (particularly in this day and age), and it's a bit more nuances than the article presents it.

Yes you're right. I was setting some facts straight and answering my parent post's question. I wasn't voicing my opinion on whether or not I agree with those laws (I don't) and think they're well-designed (they're not IMHO).

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