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'Shitstorm' is a ubiquitous Anglicism used in Austria referring to public, online and broad harassment people sometimes suffer. And now the country's supreme court is cracking down on perpetrators.
The word “shitstorm” officially arrived in German dictionaries more than ten years ago,
Its meaning is different from the English version, which according to the Oxford dictionary is used to a describe “a situation marked by violent controversy”.
However in German the Duden Dictionary explains it as a “storm of indignation in an internet communication medium, sometimes accompanied by insulting statements”.
The word is back on Austrian media after a controversial decision of Austria’s Supreme Court, which decided to crack down on instances of online harassment. According to the decision, simply participating in a “shitstorm” can cost an individual plenty.
According to the court’s decision, it’s sufficient for a victim of a “shitstorm” to identify one person involved. You can “then assert a claim against this person for the entire immaterial damage that the person has suffered as a result of the ‘shitstorm’ “, media lawyer Maria Windhager told broadcaster ORF.
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The Supreme Court’s decision means that those who spread hate and fake news online must also accept that they can be prosecuted for it.
Police officer vilified online
Austria’s highest court dealt with the specific case of a police officer photographed and filmed as he worked in one of the 2021 demonstrations against COVID-19 measures. In a Facebook post, his image was shared with the false accusation that he pulled an 82-year-old man to the ground before arresting and interrogating him.
According to the police officer, the post had many unpleasant consequences for him. He, his sister, and his mother had been asked about it many times, and even his former post commander had confronted him about it, the report stated.
He was able to identify several people who shared the post and was able to bring one to court. In an initial trial, the court only awarded him a small portion of the €3,000 compensation he had demanded.
Austria’s Supreme Court, however, awarded the man a total €3,000. In its reasoning, the Supreme Court stated that a “shitstorm” is defined precisely by the fact that many people participate in it. At the same time, the Supreme Court disagreed with the argument that this makes the individual act of every participant less significant.
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Such an argument would have the consequence that the more people who take part in a shitstorm, the “less liable” everyone would be.
“The effect of a shitstorm is all the more violent, the more people participate in it”, according to the Supreme Court. With this, the court said those affected by a “shitstorm” could claim the total damage from a single perpetrator.
Lawyer Windhager said: “I do believe that the ruling will shake people up and make them think a little more carefully about what they post and, above all, what they share”.
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