Anyone who is threatened with violence on their smartphone or harassed with unsolicited penis pictures should be able to defend themselves legally. Actually. Even those who run a restaurant and are driven to ruin by devastating digital reviews for no reason should be able to obtain information about the author more quickly than before. A year ago, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) presented the first key points for a “law against digital violence” in Berlin. But his plan has reached a dead end.
This is due to two court rulings that have been discussed in the Federal Ministry of Justice for months without any result. “The relevant review of case law is still ongoing,” a spokeswoman said on Tuesday. She “cannot yet announce” a specific date for the presentation of a draft bill to combat digital violence.
Digital violence primarily affects women and girls
Buschmann’s plan to better identify and prosecute bullies on the Internet is floundering, if not even threatened with failure. This is also seen in the German Association of Women Lawyers (DJB), which has always supported the “law against digital violence” despite a number of objections. Because such attacks are primarily directed against women and girls. Failure of the project is “not an option,” said DJB Vice President Verena Haisch South German newspaper. “Instead of simply giving up after more than a year, we must ensure that those affected by digital violence, especially women and girls, are finally effectively supported in enforcing the law, protected from further violations of the law and that the perpetrators and platform operators are held liable. “
Because threats are increasing online, because reports often come to nothing and proceedings drag on for years, the Federal Minister of Justice wants to strengthen private information rights. In future, those affected by threats and digital hate will be able to request that operators of internet platforms and messenger services provide “information about the identity of authors of infringing statements”. This is what it says in the key points of the “law against digital violence”, which Buschmann presented in April 2023. The disclosure of user data such as IP addresses should only be made to the court, it continues. The court could then prohibit the companies from deleting data until the accusation has been clarified.
The European Court of Justice has created a hurdle
But the Federal Minister of Justice did his calculations without the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The online providers Google, Meta and Tiktok have sued Austrian authorities and a law that obliges them to report illegal content. The ECJ ruled inadmissible in November 2023. Because the three companies have their European headquarters in Ireland, not Austria. The court ruled that under “narrow conditions” it is possible for an EU state to take measures to protect public order in another EU state. However, an EU member state is not allowed to “take general, abstract measures” that apply indiscriminately to all types of communications service providers in other countries.
For Buschmann’s “Law Against Digital Violence” this means: The planned private right to the release of user data in Germany has no validity under European law. The federal government is not allowed to impose stricter rules on companies located in other EU countries than those that apply there. And the vast majority of future information procedures are likely to be directed against large, international telecommunications providers.
And Buschmann’s plan was set back at other points. His concept also envisages “unlawful violations of absolute rights” being prosecuted more quickly on the Internet. This refers, for example, to the damage to restaurants caused by “untruthful user comments”. This caused a stir as early as 2023. Critics complained that a liberal, of all people, wanted to restrict freedom of expression and suppress critical comments online. Buschmann backtracked a bit back then. This does not mean ordinary restaurant reviews, but rather repeated lying comments that are ruinous for companies.
The other hurdle comes from the Federal Court of Justice
Here too, however, there are now new hurdles. In September 2023, the Federal Court of Justice dismissed the lawsuit brought by an online seller. She had offered mattresses on Amazon whose condition customers complained about. Amazon then removed several of the seller’s offers from the server and refused to reveal the identity of the dissatisfied customers. The saleswoman, in turn, believed the bad reviews were unjustified. She sued the Federal Court of Justice – and lost. The court decided that German courts had no jurisdiction over the Luxembourg-based company Amazon.
This is also bad news for Buschmann. How are German courts supposed to judge unauthorized digital reviews of services or restaurants if they lack international jurisdiction in globalized online operations? There are still no answers to this in the Federal Ministry of Justice. They are still looking for solutions in which at least individual elements of the Buschmann concept could be implemented. There aren’t many elements.
Because if neither private requests for information nor the new information process can be implemented in a legally secure manner, the core of the “law against digital violence” only remains one project: the right of those affected to be able to have their account blocked in the event of serious personal violations. This should apply to “notorious infringers in the digital space”, i.e. to stubborn repeat offenders and limited time.
Bundestag member Renate Künast, who herself has been the target of digital hate attacks for years, called for more emphasis on Buschmann’s proposed legislation on Tuesday, despite everything. The two court rulings must be evaluated, said the Green politician of the SZ. Nevertheless, she expects a draft law to be presented “in the next few weeks”. “The Digital Violence Protection Act is an important part of the fight against right-wing extremist violence in particular,” said Künast. Not only politically active people are affected, but also many municipal employees. “We need every tool.”