DPA case DSB-D123.768/0004-DSB/201 – Dismissed (Austria, 2019)

The complainant belongs to a political party and is a member of the city council of an Austrian municipality. In November, the municipality held a meeting on the "parking space concept", to which a certain group of addressees, including the complainant, was invited. The complainant did not take part in this discussion because of an incorrect delivery of the invitation. The respondent, another political party, then posted an entry on her public Facebook page in which, to put it bluntly, criticism was made of the complainant's failure to appear. Is this Facebook post processed for journalistic purposes or a contribution to a debate of public interest, namel whether the complainant, as a polititcian and a person in the public interest, would be entitled to his or her tasks or requirements as a city councilor. The limits of permissible criticism in relation to a politician acting in his public function must be interpreted more broadly than in relation to a private individual. Moreover, the use of the complainant's data in the proceedings was not unlawful because this form of political work is covered by § 1.2 of the PartG, and thus has a legal basis in the meaning of § 1.2 of the DSG.