US Vice President JD Vance has stepped up his criticism of the state of free speech in Europe, linking hate speech laws with the US military presence in Germany.

Vance made the comments at a conference of conservative activists and politicians on Thursday, near Washington DC.

Similar remarks by Vance at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month, where he lectured European leaders about the state of democracy and free speech, were met with strong rebukes, including from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

What did Vance say this time?

Vance referred to Washington's longtime military deployment in Germany and how he thought US service personnel could be impacted by the country's hate speech laws.

"There are thousands upon thousands of American troops in Germany today. Do you think that the American taxpayer is going to stand for that, if you get thrown in jail in Germany for posting a mean tweet? Of course, they're not," he told activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

"Germany's entire defense is subsidized by the American taxpayer," he then claimed.

The US vice president also insisted that the US would "continue to have important alliances with Europe," telling CPAC moderator Mercedes Schlapp, "I do think the strength of those alliances is going to depend on whether we take our societies in the right direction."

The US military has more than 80,000 soldiers stationed in Europe, including at Germany's Ramstein Air Base.

At the Munich Security Conference last Friday, Vance accused European governments of being "afraid of their own people" and therefore wanted to silence them. He also spoke out about the impact of such curbs on US tech giants.

US media report sheds light on hate speech laws

Vance's latest remarks were in response to a report by the US broadcaster CBS, which dealt with Germany's approach to online hate speech.

Among other things, it showed police officers searching a house in Lower Saxony, confiscating smartphones and laptops.

Vance had previously criticized the report, accusing German authorities of "criminalizing language," which he said would be a "real burden on European-American relations."

The CBS report also featured German public prosecutors, who confirmed that publishing insults and the forwarding of insults online are punishable offenses.

German law also sets restrictions on free speech, including the longstanding ban on Holocaust denial and any glorification of the country's Nazi past.

The limits to curb extremism and incitement have led authorities to police the internet for hate speech and arrest those suspected of posting such comments.

How has Germany responded?

Reacting negatively to Vance's latest claims that Germany's defense is subsidized by US taxpayers, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said, "I still believe in reason and facts." He added that he hoped that accurate media reports would also reach the US.

Speaking at his last major campaign event before Sunday's elections, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pushed back at multiple accusations from within Trump's inner circle that Germany's policies against online hate crime are "Orwellian."

"I have nothing against people becoming billionaires but becoming a billionaire because you want the right to insult people and break the law is not acceptable," Scholz said.

"We in Europe will stick to our rules, for example, that Nazi symbols are banned in Germany," he added.

Edited by: Sean M. Sinico