20260117 BVerfG gegen Zensurversuch

Federal Constitutional Court: Violation of freedom of broadcasting

The violation of freedom of broadcasting by obstructing the work of a journalist was the most serious accusation made by the Federal Constitutional Court against the investigating authorities in the “Inymedia” case. The searches of five apartments in the course of the investigation, including the seizure of 200 data carriers, were also unlawful.

What is this about?

In 2017, the internet platform “linksunten.indymedia” was banned by Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière (CDU) for inciting criminal activity. The Federal Constitutional Court confirmed this ban in 2023. Nevertheless, in April 2020, people had reposted the website as an archive, and the journalist had linked to this site in one of his articles.

According to the Federal Constitutional Court ruling, the action taken against the journalist was a violation of freedom of broadcasting under Article 5(1) sentence 2 of the Basic Law (GG).

In its ruling of December 30, 2025 (Ref. 5 Qs 6/23), the Regional Court (LG) of Karlsruhe agreed with the five defendants that the search warrants issued by the local court were unlawful.

Furthermore, the court doubts that the mere publication of an archive can be considered as the continued existence of the banned association (violation of the guarantee of legal protection under Article 19(4) GG).

The minor severity of the possible offense in no way justifies the serious infringement of property rights, such as the seizure of smartphones or laptops.

The proceedings are thus finally legally binding for the defendants.