Richard Bergmair's Blog



#politics#computers#business2023q42023q32023q22023q12022q42022q32022q12021q12020q32020q12019q42019q32019q22019q12018q32018q2


==> Muzayen Al-Youssef of der Standard reports that Government Seeks to Eliminate Internet Anonymity – With Severe Penalties.

The fact that they’re calling it “digitales Vermummungsverbot” already tells you everything you need to know: There is no real rationale here besides a political stunt of the right-wing government to curry favour with their base. The original “Vermummungsverbot” is a law prohibiting people from wearing a veil in public. The pretence here is that people hiding their identity are a threat. The political effect was that xenophobes liked the idea of a law opposed to Islam. The reality is that the law really has no effect. There are almost no people in Austria who would want to wear a veil in public in the first place, apart from maybe the odd female tourist visiting from Saudi Arabia. The idea now is that the same should apply to the digital sphere.

My guess would be that they know full well that it’s never going to pass into law and make it past Brussels. But to them, it’s a win-win. Either they get a law that appeases the right-wing populous. Or Brussels stops them, playing into their anti-European narrative.

#computers#politics   |   Apr-19 2019


#politics#computers#business2023q42023q32023q22023q12022q42022q32022q12021q12020q32020q12019q42019q32019q22019q12018q32018q2