Austria plans to force (social) media to identify users to prevent hate speechVIENNA (Reuters) - Austria’s right-wing government plans to force large social and traditional media to verify their users’ identity so that individuals can be tracked down if they post hate speech online anonymously, it said on Wednesday.
The measure, part of a bill that has yet to be submitted to parliament, will apply only to larger platforms, defined as those with have more than 100,000 users or 500,000 euros ($560,000) in revenue in Austria, as well as traditional media receiving a certain amount in government subsidies.
Culture and media minister Gernot Bluemel said the bill, which he expects to come into force in September next year, was the first of its kind in the European Union. Other countries in the bloc, including Germany and France, have taken steps to rein in hate speech online.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-socialmedia/austria-plans-to-force-social-media-to-identify-users-as-bar-to-hate-speech-idUSKCN1RM26RApparently, under ÖVP/FPÖ‘s plans you have to register with a online newspaper, social media site or forum with your passport, drivers license or phone number - but can still use an anonymous name to post.
If you post hate speech though and someone files a charge, the media platform would have to forward your real personal data to the police though ...