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Comment by freeflight | Hacker News Reader

Germany does not like anything non-profit security related.

A few years back they raided a German host of the Riseup email service due to some alleged online threat [0]

They didn't just stop there, they also moved on to the nearby CCC maker space, for which they didn't even have a permit, and also raided that.

Among the things they found there was 3D printers, chemicals to feed said 3D printer, and a small 3D printed model of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb.

They confiscated all of that under the suspected offense of "trying to create an explosive device" [1]

Can't make this stuff up, reality is stranger than fiction.

[0] https://www.golem.de/news/zwiebelfreunde-polizei-durchsucht-...

[1] https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/hausdurchsuchungen-bei-n...

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This year, the CDU (center-right christian party) filed charges against Lilith Wittmann, who notified the CDU about a data leak concerning their election campaign app, which exposed personal data of 500,000 people. Data such as city of residence, street, age, gender and political opinions. [1]

[1] https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/en/the-cdus-leaky-campaign-a...

Isn't this just like how BAFIN filed a lawsuit against financial journalists who were reporting on the Wirecard fraud instead of going after Wirecard?

Seems like government assisted bullying is the default M.O. in Germany if you're the little guy and happen to step on the toes of the rich and powerful.

IMHO, in this regard, Germany is way worse than the US.

>Seems like government sponsored bullying is the default M.O. in Germany.

Yes it is, it's a bit like the CCP, if they think it's anything against them (truthfully or not) they bite first and second, then stop talking about it and hope everyone forgets. Works pretty well for everyone directly involved...so no pressure to change anything.

The media is also very pro-government so that helps.

They seem to work together.

Small correction, it would have been the BAFIN (banking regulator) and not the BAMS (migration office)

Corrected, thanks.

Unfortunately Germany is slowly slipping to a totalitarian state it traditionally used to be. Now they are even planning compulsory vaccination for everyone.

Wild take. Not only completely untrue, but also very amusing in its implication that there is overlap between the people preferring a totalitarian Germany and the people who would want compulsory vaccination.

Well it seems neighboring Austria will fine unvaccinated residents[1], so it's definitely not a wild take. Second, totalitarian !== Nazi.

[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-22/vaccine-h...

I mean, the vaccination measures now pile on top of the war on terror measures that a whole generation was already born, and normalized, to anyway.

So this trend into more authoritarian structures is very real in a very objective way.

And if everything keeps going as it does, there's a non zero probability this situation won't be of a temporary nature, just like there is a non zero probability that vaccines will need to be boosted/reapplied even more often.

Sum all of that up, and it's a quite dystopian scenario we are possibly heading into.

The constitution works both ways: The state has to ensure personal liberty to everyone but what if a group started to restrict another group's liberties? Which group do you provide liberty for? It's a dilemma: Either those who sacrificed 2 years of their liberty so that scientists could come up with a vaccine, restoring all previous liberties after herd immunity would've been reached, all without causing the deaths millions of vulnerable people. Or those who decide against a vaccine where there is scientific consensus on effectiveness, who cause the infection to spread further and further, without having a scientific/rational reason for the decision, because it's rooted in fear.

PFFFT! BAFIN... what did you expect from the country of CUM-EX?

Or, to go back to 2001, to the 'Frankfurter Steuerfahnder-Affäre', where people tried to do their job, and got mobbed, bullied, canceled and even psychiatrized for it!

But won after years of law-suits.

* https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/schadenersatz-fuer-st...

> A few years back they raided a German host of the Riseup email service due to some alleged online threat

Much worse than that, they raided the private home of one of the members of the nonprofit organization Zwiebelfreunde that passes on donations to riseup and runs a few tor exit nodes. That person has kids and family, he couldn't even work because they took all the hardware.

Yeah Germany is terrible, they buy'd NSO licenses because their own bundes-troyaner is bullshit, every second year they want to introduce "child safety measures" aka you need to identify yourself so you can browse anything else then the lego website, and many many more examples...just like this one, germany is a shame in this regard.

But Julia Reda, the CCC and netzpolitik.org are just great!

> every second year they want to introduce "child safety measures"

It's always the same excuse every single time. I have to wonder if this stuff actually protects children.

Look i am absolutely not against protecting children's from harmful stuff, but it has to be the other way around, it's not like i had to insert my ID card into the DVD player too show that i am this old...NO you put the DVD's away your children's are not supposed to watch.

I have a new revolutionary idea....setup internet filters ON your children's devices, and there are tons of websites with pre made filters (often every country has his own) and even crazier most ISP/Routers already have them implemented, on the Mobile-phones you setup VPN (back to your home-router (also already implemented from most ISP's) so even the Phones have those filters) ;)

Too much work?* Then shut up talking about protecting your/our children's, and let them browse every f*ing social media network including 4chan, tictok and that terrible facebook owned thing.

  *Not talking to the parent obviously, but to everyone who thinks it should be any other way.*****

That's the proper way to do it. I'm convinced that these laws are just a pretext for government surveillance. Opposing them is political suicide since it makes people look like pedophiles.

>Opposing them is political suicide since it makes people look like pedophiles.

Exactly that's the trick, not sure about the downvotes you get, but let's say in the 60', against that anti-freedom of expression/opinion?..you have to be a communist. Against Homeland security after 9/11? You have to be a terrorist, against total surveillance? Do you have something to hide? Against Apples photo scanner? Why do you have child-porn on it? And finally against destroying jews-owned shops...well we know the answer....

Every era has its bogeyman that allows the state to justify anything. Communists, drug dealers, pedophiles, terrorists.

Well said, cheers to a free world :)

Most of us probably looked at questionable content while juvenile. People are still living but if some people knew what people watched at a maybe too young age it would spawn the holy inquisition of angry parents. Glad that they currently focus on the school system.

You cannot make the internet child safe, the only point of influence is what you suggested, which means parents need to get informed here. Maybe through schools of their kids.

I won't stop the government from trying though, especially the German one, which brought us presents like NetzDG. Really popular export and inspiration for dictators around the world.

12 years olds will always have more digital competency in evading such barriers than their parents, even the newer smartphone and tablet generations.

While that may be true regarding Germany, and it's understanding of Cyber by law and politicians in general, Hamburg is really special. Special as in consecutively used as free haven for any clown to have their ridiculous claims pushed through by clowns. To be canceled by the next instance higher up, often. I can't decide if I should laugh, or cry :-(

This gives such a bad image. They should be ashamed!

> and a small 3D printed model of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb.

Any idea when we can suggest the Germans have a sense of humour?

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