Η European Police (Europol) today launched coordinated raids in seven countries, including the Greece.
ΌAll this was done in an effort to suppress it hate speech and incitement to violence on the Internet, European law enforcement agency says Europol and German prosecutors.
In Germany, police searched 83 apartments and other buildings and confiscated evidence such as "smart" cell phones and laptops. Prosecutors say 96 suspects are being questioned for hate speech on the Internet.
One of the suspects is accused of making anti-Semitic comments while another of insulting a female politician on the internet, prosecutors in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate said in a statement.
The raids are part of an annual operation launched by German prosecutors this year. Greece, Italy, France, Norway, Britain and the Czech Republic were added to it for the first time under the coordination of Europol.
Today's raids focus on online listings that promote him racism and xenophobia, said a Europol spokesman.
Germany has one of the strictest laws in the world regarding defamation, incitement to commit crimes and threats of violence, with prison sentences for Holocaust denial or incitement to hatred against minorities.
A German law, in force since 2018, requires social media to delete or apparently block criminal content within 24 hours of receiving an appeal and otherwise being fined heavily.
Enforcement is being closely monitored as concerns around the world about hate speech on the Internet rise, but it has had little effect and has not stopped the online hate speech in Germany, which is believed to have fueled a wave of racist attacks last year.
