Courts should be able to block accounts
According to reports, the Federal Ministry of Justice is planning a “law against digital violence”. It is intended to provide better protection for those affected by “serious violations of privacy” on the Internet. Courts can therefore block accounts in the future on request.
The Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) already obliges the operators of social networks to delete content that contains hatred, hate speech and insults. A new and additional law is intended to provide even better protection for those affected by “serious violations of privacy” on the Internet in the future.
That comes from one report of ARD Capital Studios out. Accordingly, the Federal Ministry of Justice is planning a “law against digital violence”, which should enable courts to have social media accounts blocked. In turn, those affected should be able to submit an application “under certain conditions”.
“Act Against Digital Violence”
The new law is intended to be a remedy against “notorious infringers in the digital space” and above all to help in situations in which it is unclear who is behind an account. However, a potential account suspension must be “proportionate”.
It is also only a tried and tested means if there is a “risk of repetition” and measures such as deleting individual posts are not sufficient. First, however, the account holders would have to be informed of the request in order to be able to exhaust the possibility of commenting.
Law against hate and hate speech online: civil rights activists welcome the project
If an account is blocked, this should in turn be “only for a reasonable period of time”. Loud ARD Capital Studio meanwhile, Ulf Buermeyer from the Society for Freedom Rights (GFF) and Josephine Ballon from HateAid support the law in principle.
However, the civil rights activists criticize the fact that according to the plans of the Ministry of Justice, a perpetrator has to make several negative appearances in order to be blocked. In addition, the measure only applies if those affected are repeatedly addressed.
Accounts that operate hate speech would also fall through the cracks. According to the cornerstones of the draft law, courts can also issue IP addresses upon request. The “law against digital violence” should also apply to messenger services and make telecommunications services compulsory.
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