Digital violence refers to various forms of attacks on people in the digital space. There is still no standardised legal definition of the term. According to the study “Lauter Hass, leiser Rückzug” (2024), almost every second person has experienced online insults. This can lead to psychological (35 percent) and physical (18 percent) complaints among those affected. As a result, they also often withdraw from the discourse (41 percent).
According to the German government’s 2021 coalition agreement, a law against digital violence is to provide a remedy. The Federal Ministry of Justice published the key issues paper in April 2023. A tangible proposal for the standard text does not yet exist. The focus is on the possibilities for private individuals to take action against violations of their rights in the digital space. Currently, those affected only have a right to information from telemedia providers regarding the name or email address of the infringer. In the future, the IP address will also be included in the information, making it easier to identify the perpetrator. Account blocks are also planned for notorious infringers. Irrespective of the effectiveness of this regulation, it remains to be seen what exact conditions will be defined here. Legal conformity will prove difficult due to the prohibition of censorship under Article 5 of the German Grundgesetz.
In a statement, our research team from the bidt project “Challenges of regulating digital communication platforms” was already in favour of the law against digital violence in 2023. However, based on the expert interviews we conducted, we see a need for additions. A key hurdle in law enforcement to date, which the draft law has not sufficiently addressed, is the speed and accessibility of legal protection. Legal protection against digital infringements must also be conceived digitally to maintain speed. Among other things, this starts with the preservation of evidence. We favour obliging platforms to provide tools that enable users to produce legally secure evidence. Introducing digital and standardised forms would also be desirable when submitting applications for information claims. To ensure the accessibility of legal protection for the average consumer, sufficient information services should be created and expanded for those affected.
Research project
We continue to see the reporting options on the platforms and with government agencies as important solutions. However, their effectiveness is rarely fully analysed empirically. Studies have shown that users only report offensive content on the platform in around a third of cases. The proportion of reports to government agencies is significantly lower. Nevertheless, specific breaking points and the question of their explainability remain unclear. Our aim is to identify these and make suggestions for improvement on this basis. To this end, we are conducting a quantitative survey from the users’ perspective, the results of which will serve as input for the planned law.
