The antisemitic hate website „Judas Watch“, which incites hatred against sections of the population, is still accessible. A large number of our members and followers had indeed achieved the indexing of the website through reports to the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien (BPjM) – this, however, has not had the consequence that it was definitively taken off the net. What is now required is a swift two-track approach:
a) the investigations by the public prosecutors’ offices into the perpetrators and
b) at the same time the implementation of further legal means already available, in order to take Judas Watch offline definitively and immediately.
In view of the current social climate it is grossly negligent not to use the full legal framework against such hatred!
The WerteInitiative has therefore taken up an idea from the BR/ARD reporting and, several days ago, already set out to relevant decision-makers the concrete legal possibilities for how the site could definitively be taken offline: what is needed for this is a blocking order on the basis of existing youth protection provisions (pursuant to §20 para. 4 JMStV in conjunction with §59 para. 4 RStV (or shortly §111 para. 3 MStV)).
Former DGB federal chairman and head of the WerteInitiative’s circle of friends Michael Sommer on this: „Freedom of opinion and freedom of the press are a high good in Germany. There are rightly high hurdles to having websites blocked. An online pillory for Jewish women and men as well as for other individuals and organisations from civil society, however, constitutes a great danger in the current social climate and with the increasing radicalisation on the internet. Not to act would be absolutely irresponsible!“.
The chairman of the WerteInitiative, Elio Adler: „The legal possibilities for taking „Judas Watch“ offline already exist. They must be implemented as quickly as possible. In the medium term the laws in the area of online hatred, also beyond youth protection, should be adapted in such a way that anonymous hate websites can be drained dry.“
For further details on a possible blocking of the website please refer to our attached position paper: https://werteinitiative.de/positionen/onlinehass1/
