FPÖ Rages Against EU Law Against Hate Speech and Disinformation

The "Digital Services Act" (DSA) aims to prevent the spread of illegal content and protect users more effectively against hate speech and misinformation. For FPÖ Member of the European Parliament Petra Steger, the EU law is "an ideologically motivated censorship tool".

EU Law Against Hate Speech and Disinformation: FPÖ Rejects Musk's Investigations

They would come under pressure in the wake of the upcoming term of US President Donald Trump. He has long recognised that the vague terms "disinformation" and "hate speech" are being misused as tools to establish a "brutal surveillance of the internet and suppression of unwelcome opinions". The EU's investigations into the recent online conversation between X CEO Elon Musk and AfD leader Alice Weidel should also be immediately stopped, demanded Steger. "Anything else would be a politically motivated persecution and an interference in the German election campaign." The EU and German institutions, on the other hand, complain more about an inappropriate interference by Musk in the German federal election campaign. The Bundestag wants to examine whether this constitutes an influence on the German election campaign and an illegal party donation.

Loptaka: Fighting Disinformation in the Interest of a Resilient Democracy

ÖVP delegation leader Reihold Lopatka rejected the FPÖ's criticism of the DSA. "We have recently seen in the presidential election in Romania how democracy-threatening disinformation campaigns can be. For the first time, a supreme court felt compelled to annul an election for these reasons. What is forbidden offline must also be subject to a set of rules online," Lopatka explained in a statement. "In the interest of a resilient democracy, we must combat disinformation in the digital space and the EU has taken an important step with the Digital Service Act to create uniform rules and prevent illegal or harmful online activities as well as the spread of disinformation. It is primarily about transparency obligations for providers of digital services and the possibility to report illegal content. Above all, the right to a complaint procedure for users must be guaranteed. All of this is absolutely necessary for democracy - as is the promotion of quality media," said Lopatka.

Grossmann Emphasises Importance of EU Law Against Hate Speech and Disinformation

The SPÖ Member of the European Parliament Elisabeth Grossmann also emphasised the importance of the DSA in a press release. The Digital Services Act is "our most important tool to combat hate, incitement and misinformation online and thus protect our democracy. It promotes the transparency and accountability of large online platforms and holds them responsible for disclosing their algorithms and deleting false reports more quickly." Grossmann continued: "Because it is these very algorithms that favour extreme content and thus distort free expression. The clear rules of the DSA can protect free opinion formation, but also act against polarising content, disinformation and incitement. Protecting our democracy has become more important online than ever before. What is illegal offline must also be illegal online."

EU Law Against Hate Speech and Disinformation: Brandstätter and Schilling Also Against FPÖ Demand

NEOS delegation leader Helmut Brandstätter also emphasised: "The internet cannot be a lawless space. If we leave digital media to the US oligarchs and the Russian dictator - then there is no more freedom of speech. It's strange that the FPÖ has never protested when Russia has interfered in elections in other countries - be it in Moldova or Romania." Green MEP Lena Schilling also rejected the FPÖ's criticism of the DSA. "While Elon Musk is running a disinformation campaign in Europe and trying to influence elections, the FPÖ is jumping to the defence of this democracy endangerer. The Digital Services Act (DSA) is Europe's shield against disinformation and hate speech, and the EU has the task here of protecting the citizens", Schilling emphasised in a press release.

European Commission: Freedom of Speech at the Heart of EU Law Against Hate Speech and Disinformation

The EU Commission emphasised on request of the APA that freedom of speech was at the heart of the DSA. "It sets rules for online intermediaries to combat illegal content while preserving freedom of expression and information on the internet. Nothing in the DSA obliges online intermediaries to remove lawful content", the statement continued.

(APA/Red)

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