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Austrian government seeks to eliminate internet anonymity, with severe penalties

derstandard.at

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Re: Austrian government seeks to eliminate internet anonymity, with severe penalties

#131

Post by coldcode »

Findus23 wrote: post #88
superwayne wrote: post #57

There is also an interview (unfortunately in German, but automatically translated subtitles are available) with the minister who is responsible for the bill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sm7Q1bjW5o

Asked by the interviewer if this isn't the same as asking bar owners to check the ID of every visitor just in case a bar fight breaks out, the minister answered: "Das ist ja ein Blödsinn, was sie da reden" (This is total nonsense you are talking about)

Blödsinn is pretty much what this law is about.

Re: Austrian government seeks to eliminate internet anonymity, with severe penalties

#132

Post by raxxorrax »

lazyjones wrote: post #127
codedokode wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it enough just to remove those comments?

No, for example when there are death threats or defamation of well-known people that goes viral.

In theory, if you are connected by a medium to almost everyone and utter an opinion, the probability of getting a death threat becomes 1.

Re: Austrian government seeks to eliminate internet anonymity, with severe penalties

#133

Post by rocqua »

cxy1211 wrote: post #74
szbalint wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comes from a government in which the junior coalition partner is the far-right FPÖ, an openly pro-Putin and authoritarian party. This law is part of their campaign to browbeat the press and public sphere into submission and it is following attempts to rein the austrian public broadcaster (orf) in. The proposed law is useless for any legitimate purpose, as anonymity was never a problem with hate speech or other t…

I wonder why people think that Putin controls all right wing parties on this planet (including Trump). No one talks about Gazprom Schroeder (center-left SPD) who destroyed the welfare state in Germany and then joined Gazprom.

But what about this other thing?

Re: Austrian government seeks to eliminate internet anonymity, with severe penalties

#134

Post by DyslexicAtheist »

bkolobara wrote: post #48
crunchiebones wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it won't stop people getting multiple sim cards and registering those under different names

To get a sim card (even prepaid) in Austria you need to provide a valid ID/passport. If it's not an Austrian/German/Swiss ID you will need to go in person to activate your sim card. This would make it really difficult for someone to manage a few accounts.

this will work for a minority who pay attention to privacy, though the majority just won't bother. The problem I think is that because it's being criminalized to have an anonymous SIM the average citizen will just comply while those who have something to say are silenced.

Re: Austrian government seeks to eliminate internet anonymity, with severe penalties

#136

Post by carnagii »

Laws like this are long past due. This particular law may not be the best implementation but governments do need to take action to provide their citizens with a real public square online.

Excluding fake and paid users (without a declaration of who is paying them) from that space and protecting free speech in that space is essential to having a public policy discussion.

Private corporations have not done this, and probably never will, so government is the only option left.

Re: Austrian government seeks to eliminate internet anonymity, with severe penalties

#137

Post by peletiah »

carnagii wrote: post #136

Laws like this are long past due. This particular law may not be the best implementation but governments do need to take action to provide their citizens with a real public square online. Excluding fake and paid users (without a declaration of who is paying them) from that space and protecting free speech in that space is essential to having a public policy discussion. Private corporations have not done this, and pro…

This law is like having to provide and record ID when entering a concert, restaurant or other public places. It's an authoritarian dream, but will be shot down by courts, that's for sure.

Re: Austrian government seeks to eliminate internet anonymity, with severe penalties

#138

Post by coldtea »

codedokode wrote: post #96

It is surprising. Even here, in Russia, we don't have such laws working yet. And I wonder, what Austrian authorities are going to do with foreign platforms like Telegram, which are unlikely to comply? Russian government has been trying to block Telegram using DPI for a year and didn't succeed. What about Twitter? Reddit? > In addition, web platforms would be required to appoint a liaison in Austria who would be respo…

>This will just put foreign platforms, who will ignore the law, into an advantageous position compared to local platforms. Users might switch to foreign platforms that don't require identification.

Doesn't really matter, as those things move the Overton window.

Tomorrow, when the US, China, and EU adopt similar laws, there wont be any "foreign services" to use.

Re: Austrian government seeks to eliminate internet anonymity, with severe penalties

#139

Post by DyslexicAtheist »

rasz wrote: post #91
bkolobara wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To get a sim card (even prepaid) in Austria you need to provide a valid ID/passport. If it's not an Austrian/German/Swiss ID you will need to go in person to activate your sim card. This would make it really difficult for someone to manage a few accounts.

How is homeless situation in Austria? Thats how you get clean untraceable pre registered cards.

what you suggest is a really good technique which has the additional benefit of inheriting the social graph of whoever owned the phone before. it's easy to get them from immigrants in one of the mom+pop shops offering international "calling-home" services.

Re: Austrian government seeks to eliminate internet anonymity, with severe penalties

#140

Post by coldtea »

crunchiebones wrote: post #43
Findus23 wrote: post #25

In case anyone wants to know how this should work, this is the explanation by the minister: There are "technical possibilities where software can run on the backend that can immediately identify: Does the registered mobile phone number match the name and address or not?" - derstandard.at/2000101678440/Minister-Bluemels-Ominous-De-Anonymization-Software (from https://derstandard.at/2000101678440/Minister-Bluemels-Omin…

it won't stop people getting multiple sim cards and registering those under different names

Only selling SIM cards with an ID, would.

And going to jail for 5-10 years if you're caught bypassing the law, would as well.

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