German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is again calling to end online anonymity, which he argues makes it difficult to identify those responsible for false information and personal attacks. Speaking at an event in Berlin, Merz was asked about whether informants and journalistic sources may sometimes need to remain anonymous. "Please, nobody come to me with free speech," Merz replied, without addressing the question. "This has nothing more to do with free speech," a concept he said was "at best" an American idea, "that I personally do not share." He compared the internet with newspapers, where publishers can be held accountable for what they print, and claimed that anonymous online messages make it harder to establish responsibility. He did later acknowledge that there may be legitimate reasons to allow anonymous speech but did not elaborate.
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