But Germany specifically has different views around inciting the people that the US might view as an infringement against the 1st Amendment. Granted theirs is more directly around hate speech but the concept of inciting/instigating masses is clearly spelled out and directly ties into Twitter's actionsEuropeans have a far different attitude towards internet regulation than Americans. People should keep that in mind before judging her comments.
Volksverhetzung - WikipediaVolksverhetzung, in English "incitement of the masses", "instigation of the people" (the official English translation of the German Criminal Code uses "incitement to hatred"[1][2]), is a concept in German criminal law that refers to incitement to hatred against segments of the population and refers to calls for violent or arbitrary measures against them, including assaults against the human dignity of others by insulting, maliciously maligning, or defaming segments of the population.[1][2][3]
It is often applied to, though not limited to, trials relating to Holocaust denial in Germany. The criminal code (Strafgesetzbuch) Chapter 7 (Offences against public order), Paragraph 130 (Incitement to hatred) of the Federal Republic of Germany defines when a person is guilty of Volksverhetzung.[1][2][3]
We are tying to protect our democracy so that we don't get to the level that you had to get to with your democracy. I'm generally cool with Merkel, but she needs to sit this one out and STFU