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Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD): "Convict perpetrators and switch off the platforms"
Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants to step up the fight against child abuse.
However, the SPD politician now rejects the EU Commission's proposal for the search of encrypted messenger messages as well.
In a first reaction, she had said yes, but that has changed.
»I want to tighten the stance against the perpetrators who inflict terrible violence on children.
We have to act harder against this disgusting crime - especially at European level, in order to get to the big platforms," she told the "Bild am Sonntag".
"But we must not intervene in encrypted private communications and thus hit many people who have nothing to do with these acts."
It is a great achievement that there is communication that the state is not allowed to look into.
"I don't think it's compatible with our freedom rights to check every private message without cause," said Faeser.
Images of abuse are shared and marketed primarily in forums and on Darknet platforms.
“We have to consistently keep an eye on these, convict the perpetrators and shut down the platforms.
If material is discovered there, the provider must immediately inform the investigating authorities so that they can take action immediately," emphasized the minister.
This approach will clearly lead to more investigations.
Therefore, there must be additional positions in the police and law enforcement agencies in the countries and "very good technical equipment".
Buschmann and Wissing are also against it
According to the will of the EU Commission, whoever shares photos and videos of sexual abuse of children on the Internet should be made easier in the future.
According to a bill presented in mid-May, providers such as WhatsApp, Signal, Threema and many others could be required to use software to search their services for known images, previously unknown images and grooming.
In addition, an EU center is to be set up to provide the relevant technology.
Read more about the draft here.
The EU Parliament and member states must approve the project.
Since Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann and Digital Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) have already spoken out against the plan, it is becoming apparent that Germany will not approve the draft, at least in this form in the Council.
pbe/dpa