Austria’s Justice Minister Anna Sporrer (SPÖ) has announced plans for new rules governing offensive comments on social media. The move follows calls from coalition partner NEOS for reforms to media law that would prevent social media users from being held liable for insulting comments posted by third parties under their content.
Sporrer’s proposal would require page owners to first be notified and given an opportunity to remove the offending comment. During that period, no legal costs could be imposed on the page owner, she told ORF on Friday.
A draft law is currently being finalized and is expected to be sent to coalition partners for coordination as soon as possible.
Digitalization State Secretary Alexander Pröll (ÖVP) questioned whether changing liability rules would place responsibility where it belongs. He argued that reforms would remain incomplete as long as offenders can act anonymously online, referring to the ÖVP’s previous calls for a real-name requirement on social media platforms.
NEOS Calls for Quick Reform
“The goal is to place responsibility where it actually belongs,” NEOS justice spokesperson Sophie Wotschke said earlier in comments to APA, while announcing plans for discussions with coalition partners ÖVP and SPÖ.
Under current rules, individuals can be held liable if someone posts an insulting comment beneath their social media post, even if they never saw the comment.
Several recent cases have attracted media attention. According to NEOS, legal costs can quickly reach €2,000 per comment. Media organizations, journalists, public figures, and private individuals are among those affected. As a result, many users disable comment sections, which NEOS argues limits democratic debate.
“Hate speech online must be prosecuted consistently. Anyone who insults, threatens, or defames others must be held accountable,” Wotschke said. “But imposing significant costs on someone for the actions of a third party they may not even know about misses that goal entirely.”
NEOS described the current legal situation as unjustifiable and called for a modern and balanced framework that both combats online hate and provides legal certainty.
Notice-And-Takedown Model Under Consideration
Among the options being discussed is a notice-and-takedown system for third-party comments. Under such a model, users would not automatically be liable for comments posted by others but would be required to remove them after receiving notice.
NEOS has also suggested reforming cost reimbursement rules, arguing that current legal costs encourage litigation-based business models.
“The person who writes the hateful comment—or knowingly leaves it online after being notified—should be responsible,” Wotschke said. “Not someone who fails to spot and remove a comment immediately.”
The debate follows a recent ruling by Austria’s Supreme Court regarding social media “likes.” The case involved a Facebook user who liked an insulting comment posted beneath photos from a family celebration.
The owner of the Facebook account, a publicist, sued the user for defamation and sought an injunction. However, the Supreme Court rejected the request, ruling that whether a “like” constitutes defamation depends on the specific context, including the content being liked, the communication history, and the surrounding cultural environment.
In the case at hand, the court concluded that the like would likely be understood as an expression of general dislike toward the plaintiff or toward the public display of his private marital happiness, rather than as an act of defamation.
