At 8:58 in this video from “60 Minutes,” Josephine Ballon happily says, “Half of the internet users in Germany are afraid to express their political opinion.” Josephine Ballon is an evil, authoritarian scumbag. I dare her to have me arrested.

Wordpress ^ | February 17, 2025 | Dan from Squirrel Hill

[grundle]

My name is Daniel Alman, I was born in 1971, and I’ve lived in Squirrel Hill for my entire life so far. I’m the only person in the world who matches all of those things, so there’s no doubt as to who I am.

At 8:58 in this video from “60 Minutes,” Josephine Ballon happily says, “Half of the internet users in Germany are afraid to express their political opinion.”

Josephine Ballon is an evil, authoritarian scumbag.

I dare her to have me arrested.

Thank goodness that I was

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bMzFDpfDwc

[heartwood]

In context, if you watch, she means half of the users are afraid to express themselves because of hateful attacks by other users. Not because of government enforcement. And this is what Ballon uses to justify government intervention and enforcement.

[Menes]

Maybe she means what’s going on on those particular social media (so-called), which are not really serious discussion forums, but I don’t frequent them.

Thus, I cannot say whether she has a point, but I have a gut feeling that she is just exaggerating for sheer dramatic effect. As journalists so often do, alas.

[okkev68]

I wouldn’t quite say 90/10. Maybe 85/5/5. There are quite a few a$#holes, who get their jollies by disrupting threads with senseless arguments and name calling. Plus you have the grammar police and the whole Russia/Ukraine segment.

[9YearLurker]

This would be the relevant section of their constitution:

“(1) Every person shall have the right freely to express and disseminate his opinions in speech, writing and pictures and to inform himself without hindrance from generally accessible sources. Freedom of the press and freedom of reporting by means of broadcasts and films shall be guaranteed. There shall be no censorship.

(2) These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in provisions for the protection of young persons and in the right to personal honour.

(3) Arts and sciences, research and teaching shall be free. The freedom of teaching shall not release any person from allegiance to the constitution.”

That (2) is pretty squishy.

https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_gg/englisch_gg.html

[Adder]

True...but they ALSO broached no dissent and backed it up with beatings, imprisonments and killings.

Tyrants gonna tyrant, especially when they have such a weak position, they cannot defend it with political discourse and discussion.

Nazis gonna Nazi. And modern Europe is full of them.

[x]

I like to keep my zeppeline clean
It’s a Josephine balloon ...