German officials attempted to start a criminal investigation into a Gab social media user who allegedly called a left-wing female politician “fat,” but the platform refused to comply with the German authorities’ invasive demands to uncover the person’s identity, the platform told Fox News Digital.
The Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt-BKA) contacted Gab about a user insulting the weight of politician Ricarda Lang, a prominent leader of an environmental party in Germany. It requested information that would identify who the individual was, under the suspicion they resided in Germany, so that they can continue their criminal investigation.
Torba called Germany’s request “one of the more ridiculous foreign data requests that Gab received… [T]hey wanted us to dox a user for calling a female politician fat.”
Gab’s official response was to inform the German government they should “get bent,” the CEO, Andrew Torba, told Fox News Digital.
“We stand firmly by our commitment to free speech principles and will not compromise the privacy or civil liberties of our users. We categorically reject any requests from governments, including the German government, that seek to stifle free speech or violate the privacy rights of our users for speech which is protected by US law. In this instance, we will not be providing any user data related to the alleged offense against a German politician. Accordingly: you can get bent,” Gab said.
Germany has become the hate speech police, having some of the strictest laws in the world concerning social media posts. The agenda was accelerated after The Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) was signed into law in 2017. It requires social media companies to promptly remove illegal content, including hate speech, defamation, and incitement to violence.
“In this particular case the Gab user “[redacted]” published two posts that sexualize the German politican ‘Ricarda Lang’ and denigrate her weight,” the BKA allegedly said in its formal request to Gab.
German authorities requested the person’s cell phone, email, IP address, payment method, past and present usernames, full name, date of birth, postal address, and personal ID documents and so on.
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Germany alleged the post attacking the politician’s weight and posting a graphic meme was a violation of its laws on insults.
Section 185 of the German Criminal Code covers derogatory opinions, defamatory remarks, or expressions that show disrespect or contempt. This can include verbal abuse or statements that degrade someone’s worth.
“The penalty for insult is imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or a fine and, if the insult is committed publicly,” the law said.
Fox News Digital repeatedly contacted the BKA for comment and did not immediately receive a response.
