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Federal Act establishing civil legal and civil procedural measures to combat hate on the Internet (Combating Hate on the Internet Act)

Serious infringements of personal rights on social media platforms on the Internet represent an increasing challenge in terms of social and legal policy. The threshold for perpetration is low, while the effect on the victims is often massive and lasting. The available civil legal protection sometimes takes too long in serious cases, especially when the infringing content is visible and accessible to many users.
This draft Federal Act, establishing civil legal and civil procedural measures to combat hate on the Internet (Combating Hate on the Internet Act) aims to remedy this unsatisfactory situation with civil legal and civil procedural measures. On the one hand, the basis of claims, capacity to sue and be sued as well as the balancing of interests in the enforcement of personal rights are expressly anchored in substantive law. On the other hand, a new civil procedural mandate procedure to combat hate on the Internet is being introduced. This is intended to remove hate posts that violate human dignity from the electronic communication network as quickly as possible.