Hate on the net: expert against special public prosecutor’s office
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The Salzburg lawyer and Internet expert Clemens Thiele can only gain little from the ÖVP’s demand for its own special public prosecutor’s office to prosecute hate messages in social networks. He advocates better equipment for the existing authorities.
The ÖVP called for the establishment of a special public prosecutor to track hate messages in social networks. The Green coalition partner speaks out against this and referred to existing competence centers at the public prosecutor’s offices in Vienna and Graz.
Now you also get experts in position and refer to the successes of the special public prosecutor’s offices in Vienna and Graz. The Salzburg lawyer and Internet expert Clemens Thiele also doesn’t think much of an additional authority: “You shouldn’t call on a specialization authority for every new problem that arises. In Graz or Vienna, there have been very good experiences with the local public prosecutor’s offices,” says lawyer and Internet expert Clemens Thiele.
Public prosecutor’s offices in Vienna/Graz as a model
He would welcome it if these key public prosecutor’s offices were modeled on von Wien and Grau. There is also a need for a daily networking meeting and better training for the police and judiciary in dealing with hate postings. “Above all, it needs more staff and more technical equipment, such as expert help,” demands Thiele. Thiele sees the expansion of the existing structures as useful, creating a new authority would be a tour de force for the legislature. The Ministry of Justice, the opposition and the Public Prosecutors Association are also opposed to having their own authority.