German Chancellor stops legal action over online abuse

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz claims that since taking office, he has stopped filing complaints with law enforcement over insults directed at him on social media, TASS reports.

“Since I have been in office, I have not filed a single complaint,” he said during a civic dialogue held as part of the German government’s Open Day. “I used to do this for a long time, but I stopped; I don’t do it anymore,” the Chancellor assured. He explained that in many cases, prosecutors themselves monitor statements directed at politicians.

Merz claimed that he is completely unaffected by insults on social media. “If someone calls me an idiot, let them. I have a different opinion, but that is not yet a criminal offence,” he said. At the same time, the Chancellor expressed regret that the tone on social networks is becoming increasingly radical.

The head of government stressed that he is open to discussing reforms of Paragraph 188 of the German Criminal Code, which is intended to protect political figures from insults, defamation, and the spread of defamatory claims. Merz noted that, for him, a person crosses a line when they insult not him as an individual, but as the holder of a public office, thereby insulting the office itself.