💻 Victim protection for online offences
In brief
Offences on the internet are just as punishable as acts committed “offline” – for example insult and threats via social networks, violation of the most personal sphere of life through image recordings (§ 201a StGB), the distribution of intimate images without consent (“revenge porn”, § 184k or § 201a StGB) or fraud in online trading. Even though offenders online often act anonymously, filing a criminal complaint makes sense: investigating authorities can request subscriber data from providers, and evidence (screenshots, message histories, URLs) should be secured before possible deletion.
For civil-law identification of anonymous authors of unlawful content, § 21 of the Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act (TDDDG, successor to the former TTDSG) provides a right to information against service providers – however, this requires a prior court order from the regional court and is not an automatic route to information.
Step by step
- Secure evidenceTake screenshots with the URL, date and profile name visible before content is deleted or access is lost.
- Report contentReport unlawful content via the reporting or complaint function of the respective platform.
- File a reportFile a report with the police, ideally with the secured evidence; many federal states offer online police stations for initial reports.
- Consider the civil-law right to informationIn the case of anonymous offenders, a court application for information under § 21 TDDDG can be considered via a lawyer in order to obtain subscriber data from the provider.
- Look for supportSpecialised advice centres for people affected by online hate or image rights violations can help with technical and legal steps.
Deadlines
- A separate “Act against digital violence” intended to create a simplified right to information was, as of September 2026, still at the stage of a ministerial draft (Referentenentwurf) and not yet in force – do not rely on announced but not yet applicable relief.
- Insult (§ 185 StGB) is an offence prosecuted on application with a deadline of three months from learning of the offence and the offender (§ 77b StGB) – if the deadline is missed, prosecution is usually no longer possible unless the public prosecutor's office finds a special public interest.
- Do not delete insulting or threatening messages too hastily – secure evidence first, even if seeing them is distressing.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Relevant offences
Depending on the facts, the following may apply, among others: § 185 StGB (insult), § 186/187 StGB (defamation/ slander), § 238 StGB (stalking, also as cyberstalking), § 201a StGB (violation of the most personal sphere of life through image recordings), § 184k or § 201a StGB (recording and distribution of intimate images, “revenge porn”) as well as the general fraud offences (§ 263 StGB) for online fraud.
§ 21 TDDDG: civil-law right to information
§ 21 TDDDG (successor to the former § 21 TTDSG; the reference at gesetze-im-internet.de still has the path “/ttdsg/__21.html”) makes it possible, in the case of unlawful content and under certain conditions, to demand information about subscriber data of the users who posted the content. Disclosure requires a prior court order from the competent regional court.
Status of the “Act against digital violence”
A draft bill to facilitate legal enforcement in cases of digital violence (“Act against digital violence”) was, as of September 2026, at the stage of a ministerial draft and had not yet been passed or come into force. This page therefore refers exclusively to applicable law (§ 21 TDDDG) and expressly labels the draft bill as not yet applicable.
A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.