A growing number of people are afraid to express their opinions in Germany, after many people have recently been fined for articulating political criticism.

Freedom of speech is increasingly restricted in Germany, with 74 per cent of citizens saying they prefer not to express their opinions on certain issues for fear of the consequences, according to a new survey by pollster Insa.

This may be due to the fact that many people have been handed fines recently for criticizing politicians on social media. Police have searched the homes of many elderly people after they had made political comments. Evidence suggests that draconian enforcement measures are having a devastating impact on the freedom of expression, particularly among young people and those with socially conservative values.

53 per cent of the respondents aged between 18 and 39 reported that they have experienced situations where they felt they could not speak openly. By contrast, among those aged 70 and over, this figure drops to 24 per cent, indicating that younger generations are significantly more affected by the phenomenon. Political affiliation plays a major role in the perception of the freedom of expression: 74 per cent of the voters of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) admitted to having used self-censorship at least once, followed by 57 per cent of the voters of the left-wing Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). In contrast, supporters of left-wing parties feel much less constrained: only 27 percent of Green Party supporters said they have hesitated to express their opinion, while 31 per cent of the governing Social Democrats (SPD) had the same experience.

Asked more generally whether they think some people avoid expressing their views for fear of the consequences, 74 per cent of the respondents said ‘yes’. Among AfD and BSW voters, this figure was even higher at 91 and 90 per cent respectively, suggesting that concerns about freedom of expression indicate a systemic problem in Germany.

The results underline the deepening divide over the state of the freedom of expression in Germany, where younger generations, right-wing voters and even moderate voters have expressed fears of censorship or backlash.

While some parties and their supporters remain confident that they can express their opinions freely, the data depict a society increasingly wary of expressing views, especially as legal action and public rebukes continue to dominate the public discourse.