The Council of Ministers passed the so-called Terrorism Content Act. The law, which was sent for review last November, implements an EU regulation to combat the proliferation of terrorist content online. In Austria, KommAustria takes on the task of ordering the internet platforms to remove relevant content.
What is new with respect to the draft test is that the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN) of the Ministry of the Interior will also be involved “because of its existing function as a reporting point for terrorist-motivated content in electronic media. ”, as Media Minister Susanne Raab (ÖVP) puts it.
If the suspicion of terrorist content is confirmed after a corresponding check of the DSN, KommAustria will instruct the hosting providers to remove or block access to the content. The platforms have one hour to do this after receiving the order. If a criminal offense is suspected, KommAustria and the DSN must report this to the criminal investigation department or the public prosecutor’s office.
Fine up to one million euros
Violations of the law are punishable by fines of up to one million euros or, in the case of systematic violations, fines of up to four percent of the global annual turnover of the previous financial year. All hosting service providers offering their services within the EU are affected, including websites, online forums, social media platforms and communication channels such as Telegram, as the media information states.
“We must act as consistently against radicalization in the virtual space as we do in the real world,” Raab stressed in a written statement. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) also said: “The current draft law is an important basis for combating the spread of terrorist content on the Internet even more consistently.
Source: Krone
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