First major internet block in Germany for terrorist propaganda

This is just a quickly typed post to update on a recently changed situation.

New Censorship Action: Al-Manar TV Blocked

For the first time in modern history, major ISPs in Germany, including 1&1, Vodafone, and Telekom, have been forced to block websites not related to child protection or EU sanctions. This came after the Lebanese terror group Hizbullah's channel, Al-Manar TV, had been spreading hate speech and terrorist propaganda.
The German government had already outlawed the channel in 2008 for unconstitutional content, but it continued to operate online.

This changed on December 18, 2024, when the Commission for Youth Media Protection (KJM) ordered ISPs to block both the Arabic and English versions of Al-Manar TV's website. We were able to find two domains affected under these blocks.

Until now, German internet blocks have only targeted websites violating child protection laws (like porn sites without proper age verification) or those affected by EU sanctions against Russia. However, those previous blocking attempts proved largely ineffective, with operators quickly finding ways to bypass them¹.

Opinion

While blocking terrorist propaganda like Al-Manar may seem like a good step to keep harmful content off the internet, I'm concerned about where this might lead. We can all agree this content is harmful, but we should pay attention to what could happen next. Blocking "unconstitutional" content could lead to more censorship in the future, possibly affecting other types of speech that just don't match what the government or most people think. What starts with blocking terrorism could end up limiting free speech more than what's actually needed to keep people safe.

Sources