The Censorship Network: Regulation and Repression in Germany Today

by Liber-net

Over the past several years, investigative reporting has uncovered a range of coordinated efforts to suppress online speech in Western countries. Often described as the Censorship-Industrial Complex, these networks of information suppression (mostly operating under the guise of countering “disinformation” or “hate speech”) have been particularly widespread in the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union. In the EU, Germany plays a central role in this system, with numerous governmental and private actors monitoring online speech and urging ever-greater levels of content suppression.

Germany’s reputation as a hub of censorship has grown significantly in recent years. In early 2025, a US 60 Minutes investigation drew international attention for clips of dawn apartment raids by armed police on people who had posted offensive memes. In other clips, state prosecutors chuckled at the seizure of citizens’ devices and emphasized the seriousness of the offense of “insulting” a politician.

We applied the methodology liber-net had used previously in our collaboration with journalist MattTaibbi on the Twitter Files, in mapping the US-focused Censorship-Industrial Complex. With German specialists, researchers and advisers, we documented this system at a scale far beyond what we anticipated. It includes:

• a map of the leading content controls organizations in Germany, inspired by the original Censorship-Industrial Complex map (see above, or download the full-resolution image)
• a report exploring the origins, politics and scope of German content controls
• an organizations database including profiles of more than 330 government agencies, NGOs, academic centers, think tanks, foundations, and networks involved
• a grants database of more than 420 content controls awards and grants
• a series of infographics that visualize the above data

This reflects more than half a year of research and mapping. For more details of how we approached this research, read our methodology.

It is tempting to describe the more than 330 organizations as censorship advocates or even censors, but the reality is more complex. Some clearly are overtly censorious, such as the government-appointed “trusted flagger” organization HateAid. Similarly, the unironic Machine Against the Rage initiative provokes a “you can’t be serious?” response, but serious they are indeed. At the same time, our database includes more moderate initiatives, such as local governments offering small grants for counter-hate speech education as a way to combat increasing social fragmentation.

We’ve included them all in the database and ranked them from one to five flags – with five flags indicating the worst offenders – to provide a full picture of this massive, tangled sector that maintains unusually close relationships with the government whilst presenting themselves as independent.

There is a real problem in online discourse but we argue that heavy-handed approaches are liable to political weaponization and threaten free expression. We hope this material helps journalists, policymakers and advocates see the scale of current speech suppression, defend free expression and develop methods for dealing with beyond-the-pale content that resist political weaponization.

liber-net held two public events in November, 2025 to launch the report and databases. Full presentations from the European Parliament launch event and the Berlin launch event are available on YouTube.

Key media coverage

• Zensur im Netz: Wie das Internet zur „Westlichen Wertewelt“ umgebaut wird (Berliner Zeitung)
• The Censorship Industrial Complex’s Power Grip in Germany (Racket News)
• „Zensurnetzwerk“ Deutschland: Wie die Regierung mit NGOs die Meinungsfreiheit untergräbt (Berliner Zeitung)
• German censorship funding increases by 500% since 2020 (UnHerd)
• „Deutschland hat Zensurkomplex, der größer ist als alles, was wir in den USA gefunden haben“ (Welt)

The Best “Go Paid” Deal on Substack! You Get REAL Stuff!!

Go paid at the $5 a month level, and we will send you both the PDF and e-Pub versions of Etienne’s new book: To See the Cage Is to Leave It - 25 Techniques the Few Use to Control the Many and a coupon code for 10% off anything in the https://artofliberty.org/store/.

Go paid at the $50 a year level, and we will send you a free paperback edition of Etienne’s new book: To See the Cage Is to Leave It - 25 Techniques the Few Use to Control the Many OR “Government” - The Biggest Scam in History… Exposed! OR a 64GB Liberator flash drive if you live in the US. If you are international, we will give you a $10 credit towards shipping if you agree to pay the remainder.

Support us at the $250 Founding Member Level and get a signed high-resolution hardcover of “Government” - The Biggest Scam in History... Exposed! + Liberator flash drive + a signed high-resolution hardcover of Etienne’s new book: To See the Cage Is to Leave It - 25 Techniques the Few Use to Control the Many + everything else in our “Everything Bundle” of the best in voluntaryist thought delivered domestically. International pays shipping. Our only option for signed copies besides catching Etienne @ an event.

The Daily News from the Art of Liberty Foundation is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.