Not him, but what I assume he's referring to is the usual cases in Germany where if you torrent a book, a movie, or an mp3 without a VPN, you'll instantly be served a threatening letter from the likes of GEMA, Axel-Springer, or some independent law firm who have your info from your ISP who tracks you, and they'll ask you to pay a fine for your illegal copyright violation or they'll threaten to take you to court on behalf of the film & record companies, where some 80 year old boomer judge who doesn't understand how the internet works, will instantly side with Axel-Springer because they're an old, big, rich, respected German corporation with reputable lawyers who have a history with the judge, and you're not.

Reddit is chock full of expats in Germany who got burned by this. And also the locals, but rare because they know how the system works.

In Germany it's difficult to defend yourself in court against copyright bullying from big corporations if you don't have deep pockets for a top lawyer, as there's no jury trials, nor double jeopardy, like in the US, so you're at the mercy of a major corporation with unlimited money and an old judge who has read about the internet in the newspaper, so people will instantly fold and stop what they're doing and pay whatever bullshit fine they're issued even when they do nothing illegal because paying the fine is cheaper than battling in court.

Honestly, Americans take for granted some of the freedoms they have online and in their justice system.

Look up the case of Axel-Springer suing the company that created AdBlock. Luckily Axel lost the first round[1], but it's scary how bold these companies are in Germany as many private individuals don't have the means to defend themselves in curt against such an entity.

[1] https://digiday.com/media/axel-springer-reinvigorates-legal-...