Austria Proposes Law to Monitor WhatsApp and Telegram for Terrorism Prevention
The Austrian government introduced a draft law aimed at monitoring messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram to prevent terrorism and extremist activities. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner emphasized that police currently lack the means to track terrorists’ communications on these platforms, explaining that access would be limited to specific cases involving threats to national security.
Karner clarified that the measure would not affect the general public, but only target individuals suspected of engaging in terrorism or espionage. State Secretary Jorg Leichtfried from the Social Democrats (SPO), a coalition partner of Karner’s party (OVP), supported the initiative, calling it a “last resort” and stating that constitutional concerns had been addressed.
However, the proposal has raised concerns from the liberal NEOS party, with leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger calling it a work in progress. An eight-week review period will allow further discussions between the coalition parties, with the OVP and SPO seeking to gain NEOS’ approval.
