The new Austrian governing coalition of the OVP and FPO, under the leadership of Sebastian Kurz (OVP), is drafting ambitious plans for digitisation in its programme, reported Der Standard. It includes objectives for e-Government, broadband, 5G, internet supervision and blocking websites with malicious content.
On the governmental portal oesterreich.gv.at, the new administration plans to provide a "digital offer for services of the state". Members of the public will be able to access authorities mainly online, using a digital identity. This digital ID will be voluntary and it will still be possible to deal with official matters offline. In future, ministries will write a digitisation report in which they summarise innovations in their field of expertise. In addition, the creation of its own digitisation agency is being considered. All online services from ministries will be coordinated.
In the field of infrastructure, the government plans to sign the 'Pact with Industry' on the development of broadband and fibre-optic infrastructure. By 2025, gigabit connections and 5G will be available throughout the country. The target for nationwide internet coverage at a speed of at least 100 Mbps is 2021. Administrative fees charged by operators will be lowered, and constructing masts for 5G will be made easier.
The new government plans to introduce "supervision of internet-based communication", which means that the Federal Trojan, which raised controversies in the previous government, would eventually be implemented.
The Austrian coalition is considering introducing internet censorship, i. e. an obligation for providers to block websites with inappropriate content, such as porn, drugs references or violence, by default and allow users access only through opt-in regulation, as applied e.g. in the UK. The opt-in regulation has raised criticism, inter alia for violating the network neutrality principle. In a report by the organisation Reporters Without Borders, the UK was put in the same category for internet freedom as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
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Quelle/Source: telecompaper, 19.12.2017
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