Press Council: Oltner Tagblatt should not have published SMS anonymously

Inspired by the complaint, the Oltner Tagblatt decided that feedbacks attacking someone by name must in future be signed with the name. The Press Council has now taken the complaint as an opportunity to review its practice of printing anonymous readers' letters, as new forms of participation for readers have emerged in recent years with the development of the Internet and mobile communication. However, for the assessment of whether readers' comments may be published anonymously, it is irrelevant whether this is done online or in print. In principle, the Press Council is sticking to its previous practice, according to which the anonymous printing of letters is only permitted in justified exceptional cases.
 

In addition to this principle, however, the principle of proportionality must be applied. According to this principle, an editorial office may publish feedback from the readership without stating the name and location if, after careful examination, it comes to the conclusion that anonymity is not being abused to spread rumors, untruths and hurtful accusations under its guise. Accordingly, the naming of the sender of a letter is also exceptionally dispensable if it neither refers to a person nor could otherwise have a hurtful effect. The new rule for anonymous text messages adopted by the Oltner Tagblatt is a step in the right direction, according to the Press Council. However, in the case of the text messages specifically objected to by the complainant, the requirements for anonymous printing had not been met.