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Comment by im3w1l | Hacker News Reader

Germany acts to clamp down on free speach, learning from its own history of clamping down on free speech under both the communists and the nazis.

They are even hiring former stasi people to do it.

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/09/17/german-govt-hires...

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But Germany and other countries without the concept of free speech are regularly ranking a lot higher than the US on the Press Freedom Index. How do you explain that?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index

Because their methodology does not take into account the most important right of all.

the 4th amendment? or the 1st?

I believe parent means that "clamping down on free speech" is the real problem of any regime, even if it's done in the name of "non-violence" and protection of minorities or whatever.

In practice he's right because eventually it will be used to silence valid criticism against the state.

Don't link to Breitbart.

The didn't have free speech to begin with. People forget Germany, France and the UK don't have the basic concept of freedom of speech that America does. You could already go to prison for insulting the wrong groups or supporting the wrong political party, and people have.

Like who? Citations please.

>People forget Germany, France and the UK don't have the basic concept of freedom of speech that America does

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_10_of_the_European_Con...

If you read that, you see there are so many exceptions and they're so subjective (protection of morals?) that it's pretty much not a freedom at all.

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