Christine Anderson, March 20, 2024, Democracy Promotion Act

EU Parliament, Written Question to EU Commission E-000861/2024. 

Germany is in the process of bringing in a ‘Democracy Promotion Act’ designed to establish additional tools for promoting democracy. There are considerable concerns, however, as regards the act’s constitutionality and whether or not it runs counter to the EU’s core values. The criticism centres around potential government overreach and the creation of structures that threaten to curtail the freedom and independence of civil society in breach of the principles of freedom, democracy and the rule of law enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). 

1. What is the Commission’s assessment of the compatibility of Germany’s Democracy Promotion Act with the EU Treaties, particularly in view of the reservations raised by the Bundestag’s parliamentary research service concerning its potential unconstitutionality and violations of the EU’s core values laid down in Article 2 TEU? 

2. Does it consider there to be a risk that the Democracy Promotion Act would quieten or silence opposition voices and critical civil society representatives? How does this square with the principles of freedom of expression and democratic pluralism enshrined in the EU Treaties? 

Christine Anderson, April 8, 2021, Social Networks – International Control

AfD Kompakt, April 8, 2021

Even to consider controlling and guiding the social networks is a clear indication of a totalitarian disposition. That Heiko Maas has one such, he already showed as creator of the network enforcement act. He now seeks international collaboration with other governments.

The plan goes beyond a sheer censorship, which is already bad enough: Governments in the future shall help to form algorithms that will distinguish which entries by internet users will be displayed and which not. Naturally, this is directed primarily at disfavored opinions which displease the governing globalists. Already these days, objective facts will be quite subjectively evaluated as disinformation. Legitimate resistance [Berechtiger Widerstand] will be nipped in the bud, whether by means of censorship or state manipulation of algorithms on the internet, or by restrictive Corona measures which force the people into isolation, into the street.

The social networks, such as Facebook, should not play along with this game. With promises of the free exchange of opinion, they have brought themselves to a position of monopoly. They now appear, on the basis of their involvement with government policy, to subsequently change the conditions. This abuse of market power needs to be prevented. Anything other would not be compatible with the fundamentals of a free society.

 

[trans: tem]