X has slammed Germany’s “attack on freedom of expression” after the country made a record number of requests for user data, more than any other EU nation. On Monday, the platform revealed that it plans to take legal action against what it calls “illegal claims” from German authorities.
According to X, Germany has made the highest number of data requests, with most of them centered on opinions, not crimes.
X is now taking Germany to court, arguing that these requests violate privacy and freedom of expression. The company’s Government Affairs team stated that it believes these legal demands are unlawful and should be challenged in German courts.
The issue became especially heated following the case of pensioner Stefan Niehoff, who was investigated after sharing a joke about German Economy Minister Robert Habeck on X. This sparked a wider debate on the government’s increasing focus on political opinions shared online, with some users facing fines or even house searches.
A report by VPN provider Surfshark revealed that from 2013 to 2022, German authorities made more data requests from tech giants like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple than any other European country. They requested data on 709,000 accounts, accounting for over half of all Western European inquiries, seven times higher than the global average.
