While Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler spoke out rather vaguely against bans on thinking in this direction on Saturday, Secretary General Laura Sachslehner followed up with a clear demand for it on Sunday. And she asked Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens), who had spoken out against it, to act.
Sachslehner argued that a separate public prosecutor’s office, in which renowned experts in IT law and social media are bundled, creates trust and legal certainty. Therefore, from the point of view of the People’s Party, a corresponding prosecution authority is needed for threats, hate postings and bullying on the Internet. “Just saying unctuous words is not enough. Minister of Justice Alma Zadic is called upon to finally act. In my view, a commitment to a public prosecutor’s office to prosecute hate online is needed,” explained Sachslehner. This important topic should not be neglected. “Minister Zadic must act quickly and make the judiciary fit for the future. Those affected must know that they can contact the authorities and the judiciary at any time,” the ÖVP General Secretary told the Green coalition partner.
On Saturday, however, Zadic had announced more resources for the police and the existing public prosecutor’s offices instead of his own special prosecutor’s office. “Of course I can understand the current call for a special public prosecutor’s office,” said Zadic. However, she pointed out that the judiciary had already set up competence centers for cybercrime at the public prosecutor’s offices in Vienna and Graz before the shocking case of the Upper Austrian doctor. The aim is to build up a pool of specially trained public prosecutors who serve as contact persons for all public prosecutors and also pass on their accumulated expertise in internal training courses. “Every public prosecutor’s office in Austria deals with cases of online hate and cybercrime, which is why it is necessary to build up the relevant skills across the board. I would therefore like to expand this project quickly, because every resource in this area is needed so that the judiciary can serve people effectively and quickly can help to get their justice,” emphasized the Minister of Justice.
For Zadic, the basic problem in pursuing hatred online is currently finding the perpetrators. “This investigation often takes too long, which is of course extremely stressful for those affected. Together with the Minister of the Interior, I will work to ensure that every police station and every public prosecutor’s office has the necessary resources and tools to ensure that those affected are taken seriously and the perpetrators are held accountable be,” announced the Minister of Justice.
Support for Zadic
Zadic also received support from the Neos on Sunday. Justice spokesman Johannes Margreiter said that instead of setting up a new public prosecutor’s office, it would make more sense to strengthen the economic and corruption prosecutor’s office. Margreiter said in a written statement on Sunday that their jurisdiction should be expanded to include “hate on the internet” crimes. Upgrading the WKStA and building on existing structures instead of putting resources into a new public prosecutor’s office would, according to Margreiter, be “more effective and would also go faster.” FPÖ constitutional spokeswoman Susanne Fürst had already called on Saturday for more staff to be brought into the existing public prosecutor’s office instead of discussing a new public prosecutor’s office.
Social media expert Ingrid Brodnig, on the other hand, pleaded for a separate public prosecutor’s office against hatred on the Internet. And the lawyer and media law expert Maria Windhager also welcomes this proposal. Demands for the creation of such a prosecution authority were recently raised after threats against the Upper Austrian doctor Lisa-Maria Kellermayr, who took her own life.
Source: Nachrichten
