“Piece of shit” is an insult

7. November 2022

in Law on the Internet

Reading Time: 1 min read

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Key Facts

The Berlin Regional Court had previously classified many "swear words" as not offensive.
The 27th Chamber reversed itself in 6 out of 22 cases following criticism.
Insulting comments were now included, including "piece of shit" and "bitch".
The personal data of Facebook users must be published.
The case will be referred to the Court of Appeal in Berlin for further judgment.
The legal opinion remains controversial and partly illogical.
Some terms such as "pedophile trulla" continue to fall under freedom of expression.

Last year, the Berlin Regional Court caused a stir when it ruled that a large number of “expletives” used against Green Party politician Renate Künast were not offensive. See this article.

Now the highly controversial 27th Chamber of the Berlin Regional Court reversed itself in 6 out of 22 cases.

With the new decision, the comments “piece of shit”, “bitch”, “dirty cunt, “hollow nut that belongs disposed of and as scndermüll”, “slob” and “Ferck du Drecksau” are classified as offensive.

The personal data of Facebook users who published this content must now be surrendered by the Internet company.

Fortunately, these proceedings are now being submitted to the Kammergericht in Berlin. The legal opinion of this chamber is still anything but logical. Thus, it would fall under the freedom of speech to call Renate Künast a “pedophile trulla”, “Pfui you old green dirty pig …”, “brain amputee” and “you old perverted dirty sow!!!!!”.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.

Tags: Berlin Regional Court Court of Appeal Expression Facebook internet