After the thwarting of alleged plans to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, the Greens are now opening up to a possible expansion of the powers of the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence (DSN) to monitor messenger messages: A corresponding draft from the Ministry of the Interior is to be sent for review, the APA said on Monday.
Then lawyers and experts would have “the opportunity to form a well-founded opinion”.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) once again “modern surveillance methods” demanded. A draft law to this effect has been with the Greens for months, said Karner on the sidelines of a press conference.
The possibilities it contains, for example, for Messenger monitoring “make sense”, he has “no understanding” for “constant tinkering”.
“Terrorists don’t write letters,” stressed the Interior Minister, referring to the coalition partner for further questions. A majority in the National Council is needed for implementation. The Greens have recently shown themselves to be willing to talk in principle, but have called for a proposal that complies with fundamental rights, data protection and the constitution.
Greens want assessment
On Monday afternoon, the Green Party announced that it was in favour of a transparent discussion in the public eye. “It is clear that we must do everything to prevent terrorist acts of violence and protect the population,” said club chairwoman Sigrid Maurer in a statement to the APA.
“Following the 2019 ruling of the Constitutional Court on the Federal Trojan, there is many open questionswhich have not yet been sufficiently clarified. In order to facilitate this clarification, it is now time to send the BMI draft for public review.”
During the assessment phase, which usually six weeks lasts, lawyers, constitutional lawyers, technology and data protection experts, the opposition and the public “will have the opportunity to form a well-founded opinion”.
This issue is about balancing two important concerns, the Greens emphasized: Security against terrorism and Protection of civil rights.
“Such a large project must be discussed broadly by experts and on the basis of facts – let’s do this transparently in public so that everyone can get an idea of the Interior Ministry’s draft,” said Maurer.
Law for security companies demanded
The Greens also called for a law for security companies. They are currently “not Quality standards and The control subjected to it,” criticized Maurer.
“There is neither standardized training nor minimum requirements for staff.” These “abuses” that have become apparent through the investigations should be remedied by a “security services law.”
In any case, the Greens want to Registration requirement for and control of security companies, and employees should be officially registered, including a comparison with the security authorities. Training for staff should be standardized. Maurer announced talks with the coalition partner on this matter.
When asked at the press conference, Karner had previously welcomed the possibility of creating a mandatory security check for employees at major events. This would be “good and sensible”.
