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 1. News
 2. Technology


AUSTRIA’S BID TO END ONLINE ANONYMITY TRIGGERS CRACKDOWN FEARS

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has left office, but his government’s plan to end
online anonymity is expected to live on.

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Free article usually reserved for subscribers
Companies who are left without any money will get a "seal of excellence," meant
to tell private investors that the EU likes the company | Frederic J. Brown/AFP
via Getty Images | Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
June 2, 2019 10:00 am CET
By Laura Kayali

VIENNA — Austria is coming for your hidden online identity.

Before the country's government collapsed, its ruling parties were moving ahead
with a plan to fight hate speech by forcing social media users and online
commenters to provide details about their real identity.

In April, the government presented a federal draft legislation, dubbed “the
digital mask ban,” which would require users to register on platforms and forums
by providing their names and addresses before being able to post a single
comment.

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The text triggered an uproar among civil society groups, corporations,
opposition parties and one prominent newspaper, all of which argue that the move
is a worrying step back for online freedoms that will encourage authoritarian
behavior.

Now, with polls showing former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's conservative party on
course to win reelection in September, critics fear the law is on its way back,
amid broader European moves from France to the United Kingdom to restrict
anonymity online.

> “We have had the debate on online anonymity for several years, and now we’re
> moving to a phase where governments start to regulate.” — Ingrid Brodnig,
> Austrian digital expert

“The 'digital mask ban' is a threatening gesture towards smaller, rather
government-critical online forums and a showpiece of unnecessary data
retention,” said Stephanie Cox, a member of the Austrian Parliament from JETZT,
a small opposition party.

Since the legislation was first put forward in April, Austria has undergone a
major political crisis.

In late May, Kurz lost a confidence vote after a leaked video emerged in which
the former Vice Chancellor and leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party
Heinz-Christian Strache offered to trade government contracts for campaign
donations from a supposed Russian millionaire. Before being ousted, Kurz called
a new election in the fall.

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While the composition of the future government is uncertain, there are signs the
digital mask ban could survive the turmoil.

Kurz's Austrian People's Party is widely expected to win the September election.
Last week, it achieved the best European election result in its history with
nearly 35 percent — more than 10 percentage points ahead of its Social Democrat
rivals.

“I am pretty confident that the law will come back soon after the next
elections,” said Maximilian Schubert, the secretary-general of Internet Service
Providers Austria, a lobby group representing Google and Facebook.

Before Kurz was ousted by the Austrian parliament, reports emerged the
government was willing to go forward with the project despite the ongoing
political crisis.

"The appraisal phase ended last week," a spokesperson for the culture ministry
said in late May. "We will look at the comments in detail and include them in
our considerations."

Kurz's party was the brains behind the project while its former coalition
partner, the far-right Freedom Party, was less enthusiastic, several Austrian
insiders said. (Far-right parties are traditionally wary of legislation that
could limit free speech.)

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“The political party that drives this proposal is the conservative party, which
will be aiming for continuity after this unintended snap election,” said Thomas
Lohninger, the executive director of digital rights NGO epicenter.works.


ANONYMITY ONLINE

Whether or not this legislation survives Austria's political crisis, the project
reflects a growing trend in Europe to challenge online anonymity.

In the U.K., a so-called porn block will come into effect in mid-July, requiring
websites hosting pornographic material to check the users' age with official
identification documents such as passports or driver's licences to ensure they
are aged 18 or above.

The issue of anonymous accounts online came up during the European election
campaign, when Manfred Weber, the European People Party’s candidate for the
Commission top job, said he wanted users to disclose their real names on social
media.

Manfred Weber speaks to supporters after the release of exit polls on May 26 |
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

“We have had the debate on online anonymity for several years, and now we’re
moving to a phase where governments start to regulate. Austria is not the only
country where this is an issue,” said Ingrid Brodnig, an Austrian digital expert
and the country's Digital Champion for the European Commission. She questions
the efficiency of ending anonymity to tackle hate speech online.

Earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron said he wants to end
anonymity on the internet, but stopped short of actually pushing forward
legislation going in that direction.

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Following in Germany’s footsteps, France’s draft text on hate speech online
focuses on content moderation rather than identifying users.

By contrast, Austria’s draft legislation requires users to provide their real
identities to the platforms and online forums, which are then responsible for
verifying the information.

People would be allowed to use pseudonyms when posting online, but platforms
could be forced to hand out the users’ private information to third parties,
including private persons, seeking prosecution for defamation or other crimes.

“The chilling effect for freedom of speech is real,” said Thomas Lohninger.

“The private address of people criticizing right-wing politicians could be in
the hands of whomever they have spoken about,” he said. “In an already fragile
democracy, it’s another step in the Orbán direction,” he added, referring to
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Viktor Orbán, leader of Hungary's ruling Fidesz party | Laszlo Balogh/Getty
Images

There are also concerns about whether the legislation may be in conflict with EU
law.

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In a contribution made during the consultation phase, which ended in late May,
the country’s Supreme Court questioned whether the draft was compliant with the
European Court of Justice's banning of bulk and indiscriminate data retention.


‘CONVENIENT SIDE EFFECT’

The text’s critics see the project as part of a worrying trend, after Austria's
parliament passed a law requiring people to provide personal details to buy
pre-paid SIM cards.

The Austrian executive came up with the idea of the “digital mask ban” after the
case of Sigi Maurer, a former Green MP who was sexually harassed on
Facebook, made headlines in the country.

“The government always claimed it was about my case,” Maurer said, “but it has
nothing to do with it.”

Critics argue that Der Standard, a prominent daily newspaper that often opposes
the government, is directly targeted because of the text’s thresholds in terms
of audience and revenues.

"When the government announced the legislation, we thought they were targeting
Google and Facebook, like Macron and everyone else," ISPA’s Maximilian Schubert
said. "But when the act later surfaced, the thresholds were surprisingly close
to one commercial newspaper: Der Standard."

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To fall into the legislation's scope, platforms must have more than 100,000
registered users and an annual revenue exceeding €500,000. There is an
additional criteria for media companies: They are covered by the legislation if
they have received more than €50,000 in press subsidies.

Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz | Roland Schlager/AFP via Getty Images

“Der Standard is a convenient side effect,” Maurer added.

Der Standard hosts one of the biggest online forums in Austria. If the law is
adopted, the media company would be responsible for verifying the identity of
every single user posting on the platform or commenting on articles, or face
fines.

According to the newspaper's interpretation, the proposal is a direct attack on
them and the press.

“The law is consistent with the global trend among right-wing and populist
politicians, who are doing all they can to foment distrust of independent
journalism and public debate,” Der Standard’s editor in chief wrote when the
legislation was put forward in April.

The government rejected such accusations.

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“For us, it is a matter of bringing the rule of law to a breakthrough in the
digital world as a whole. All daily newspapers are covered by the law,” the
spokesperson for the culture minister said.

For ISPA’s Schubert, the government’s actions are taking the country in a
worrying direction.

“Austria wants to be a little Silicon Valley in the heart of Europe, but right
now we are more moving towards becoming a little China,” he said.


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Related Tags
Data Hate crime Illegal content Liability regime Media Platforms Sexual
harassment Social Media
Related Countries
Austria
Related People
Emmanuel Macron Heinz-Christian Strache Sebastian Kurz
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