Merz filed nearly 5,000 criminal complaints against online critics

CDU Chairman Friedrich Merz has filed thousands of criminal complaints for alleged insults, signing nearly all of them himself. He utilized a cease-and-desist firm that charges 50% of any damages collected, contradicting his claims of donating compensation to charity. Some complaints led to house searches, with one being labeled "unlawful" after a social welfare recipient's phone was seized for calling him a "little Nazi."

The use of private cease-and-desist firms is part of a larger trend against "hate speech" in Germany since 2019. Professor Frauke Rostalski warns that this leads to "forms of self-censorship" and disproportionate reactions to lawful expressions. Despite numerous investigations, actual convictions are rare, raising concerns about the balance of power between politicians and citizens.