The Austrian Communication Platforms Act took effect on January 1, 2021. It’s Austria’s attempt to protect public discourse by regulating the big social media platforms. The law is also part of a larger package of legal reforms in the country that aim at addressing online abuse.

IPI Head of Digital Communications Javier Luque talks to experts Daniela Kraus, Secretary General of the Presseclub Concordia, and journalist Ingrid Brodnig, who has authored several books on online harassment and disinformation, about the law’s potential benefits as well as potential pitfalls that could negatively impact the free dissemination of news and freedom of expression.

Also available on

This episode of ‘The Press Freedom Files’ was produced by the International Press Institute (IPI) as part of its Newsrooms Ontheline project, which looks into measures to address online harassment in newsrooms. Newsrooms Ontheline is financially supported by a grant from the Adessium Foundation.

This episode of The Press Freedom Files was produced and prepared by the International Press Institute (IPI) as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. The project is co-funded by the European Commission.