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“I welcome the intention to take stronger measures against hate on the Internet and, above all, to better protect people who are affected by hate on the Internet. But the evaluation process has revealed weaknesses, the project harbors, as they point out experts, dangers, “said SPÖ network policy spokesperson Katharina Kucharowits in a broadcast.
epicenter.works finds problematic layouts in the three drafts that are part of the “Hate-on-the-Net” package. According to the organization, entire websites could be blocked due to personal rights violations. “The provision is so broad that it basically allows blocking an entire blog or a complete social network just for an illegal post,” the NGO warns.
In its statement, the broadcasting regulatory authority RTR notes that network blocks by access providers are “fundamentally in tension” with the EU’s net neutrality regulation. Austria’s Internet Service Provider (ISPA) is also afraid of upload filters and network blocks. Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) recently emphasized in a “ZiB 2” interview, among other things, that the network blockages are not planned.
The epicenter.works explanations also left “no doubt” that “upload filters should be installed to make repeated uploading of blocked content impossible.” Additionally, the package of laws would put event data retention and other surveillance methods in the hands of private prosecutors.
The “Communication Platforms Act” contained in the package could have a negative impact on Austrian small businesses and Internet forums from the organization’s perspective. To comply with the law, it would be necessary to spend in the six-figure range. According to epicenter.works, the e-learning provider SchoolFox or the crowdfunding platform Respekt.net would be affected.
Nonprofit web encyclopedias were excluded, but Wikimedia, the organization behind the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, again noted in its statement that, with Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata, it also operates two non-encyclopedic projects that would be affected.
A passage has been criticized that would allow employers to take legal action without the consent of the employees in question. For example, cases are conceivable where an intentionally offended person does not want to take legal action in order not to draw additional attention to a false claim, the Concordia press club criticizes this provision in a joint statement with journalist Ingrid Broding.
They also advocate swapping the term “mediator” in the “Anti-Hate Online Act” (for example, for “host provider”). “An interpretation of this term, which also includes access providers, could lead to an expansion of the network blocks,” they warn.
Criticisms also from the Austrian Newspaper Association
Changes to the Austrian Newspaper Association (VÖZ) media law as part of the “Hate in the Net” package are being questioned: Among other things, the increase in the maximum compensation limit of the media law is rejected. 100,000 euros. A “moderate cap adjustment” would be understandable from the VÖZ point of view, but not a doubling. In addition, the “appreciation” of the compensation rates “should wait until the general economic situation has stabilized and thus also the economic situation of Austrian media companies,” the statement said.
The Austrian Association of Private Broadcasters (VÖP) also considers the doubling of the ceilings to be “excessive”. It is also suggested that the protection of identity be extended to the relatives of the victims and witnesses, as foreseen, but not to the relatives of the perpetrators, since this could restrict the information work of the media in a “disproportionate measure”.
The organization ZARA insists on long-term financing of its counseling center “#GegenHassimNetz”. With the necessary resources, ZARA, as an external body, could carry out the legal review of the advertisements required by the “Communication Platforms Law”, according to the proposal. “According to the current draft, these legal evaluations would be left in the hands of commercially oriented platforms such as Facebook, which can generate unsatisfactory results for those affected,” argues ZARA.
In an opinion, the Court of Auditors states in general that “in order to guarantee an effective and efficient use of resources and an effective fight against hate on the Internet”, “uniform and in-depth training of staff, the availability of the necessary computer equipment , the organizational measures to avoid long processing times and optimization of cooperation between investigating and processing authorities will be necessary. “
SOS Children’s Villages and advocates for children and young people advocate accompanying the legislative package with a large-scale information campaign. Furthermore, a free procedure and mandatory free legal support should be guaranteed for underage victims of hate and violence on the Internet.
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