Austria plans controversial surveillance of messenger services!

Austria plans controversial surveillance of messenger services!

Austria faces a consequent step in monitoring digital means of communication. As part of the government program, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner plans to introduce the monitoring of Messenger services in order to target potential criminals in individual cases. Karner emphasizes that it is not a comprehensive surveillance, but rather the processing of 25 to 30 individual cases annually estimated by the constitutional protection. Although a new constitutional determination is not absolutely necessary, a broad political majority for the project is considered desirable. This is reported Kosmo .

In addition, the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the NEOS notices to the draft law. Karner plans to incorporate these proposals before the law is implemented, which further heats up the political discussion on the topic.

family reunification and migration

in parallel to the discussion about digital monitoring, Karner also plans a new regulation of family reunification through a quota regulation. This change in the law aims to temporarily stop and suspend family reunification. Austria has informed the EU Commission about this decision and plans to introduce a “contingency model” for regionally compatible influx. Certain criteria such as language skills, self -preservation and existing school places should be decisive.

Another central topic remains the return of citizens from crisis regions such as Syria and Afghanistan. The focus here is on the return of endangers and criminals, although there are currently no concrete plans for return centers.

digital rights and ethical considerations

In the context of the planned measures in Austria, the principles of digital transformation, which were determined at the EU level, are also the focus. According to the Digital Strategy of EU , people and their rights should always be focused on digital developments. This includes aspects such as universal access to technologies, the guarantee of freedom of choice on the Internet and the security and promotion of inclusion and solidarity in the digital world.

The EU undertakes to make a digital change that improves the life of everyone and guarantees access to fair digital conditions. These principles are also important for the discussion about surveillance measures, since they underline the responsibility of politics, to protect fundamental rights and privacy of citizens.