Bloomberg: Google, Meta Win EU Court Fight to Avoid Austrian Content Curbs. “Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Meta Platforms Inc. and ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok won a ruling at the European Union’s top court that limits the scope for EU nations to pepper them with their own local rules.”
German Press Agency: “Facts against fakes”: New website tackles internet disinformation. “Under the title ‘Facts against Fakes,’ fact-checking organizations from Germany and Austria offer up-to-date articles on false information currently being circulated on the internet. This creates the largest freely-accessible archive of fact checks in the German language. In addition, the site provides learning opportunities to promote media literacy among citizens, as well as many research articles.”
Radio Prague International: Recordings from trial with “chief symbol” of Nazi occupation K. H. Frank being restored. “Archivists at Czech Radio have discovered 1,300 discs of recordings from the 1946 trial with Karl Hermann Frank, who was in charge of the Nazi security forces during the wartime occupation of Bohemia and Moravia. The discs are currently in the process of digitisation, making it possible to play the sounds for the first time in more than 70 years.”
Reuters: Privacy complaint targets Google over unsolicited ad emails. “Google has breached a European Union court ruling by sending unsolicited advertising emails directly to the inbox of Gmail users, Austrian advocacy group noyb.eu said on Wednesday in a complaint filed with France’s data protection watchdog.”
Jerusalem Post: New digital archives show Vienna Jews efforts to escape before WWII. “Israeli genealogy platform MyHeritage on Sunday unveiled its database of digitized records of Vienna’s Jews between the years 1938-1939 – when the robust Jewish community of Vienna, Austria attempted to flee Nazi rule and persecution.”
BBC: Covid: Austria suspends compulsory vaccination mandate. “Austria has decided to suspend its mandate for compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations for over-18s, days before it was due to start enforcing it. It was the first EU country to adopt the measure. The government now says it considers it disproportionate to the threat posed by the Omicron variant.”
Reuters: Austria decides new COVID-19 measures including shorter quarantine. “Austria will impose new COVID-19 measures from Saturday including shortening quarantine times to five days, requiring people to wear masks outdoors when in crowds, and limiting to six months the validity of vaccine certificates, officials said.”
BBC: Covid in Austria: Mass protest in Vienna against measures. “Police say about 44,000 people rallied in the capital, Vienna, the fourth straight weekend of demonstrations. Last month Austria became the first western European country to reimpose a lockdown for those who are vaccinated, which ends on Sunday. But restrictions will continue for unvaccinated people.”
UnHerd: Inside the Austrian lockdown. “Mia and Christopher are Austrian circus performers. From their home in Vienna, accompanied by their dog, Magic, they go off to take part in theatrical shows large and small around Europe, from the Royal Albert Hall to private parties, sometimes juggling fire, sometimes trapeze, sometimes simply with stunning displays of balance and strength. Perhaps the least interesting thing about this talented young couple is that they are unvaccinated against Covid-19. When I meet them at their house in a wooded suburb outside Vienna, I am almost embarrassed to ask about it. But they carefully explain how, for reasons of mistrust, caution and, as they see it, integrity, they have decided not to take the Covid vaccine — and how this fact is suddenly defining their whole lives.”
Euractiv: Croatia summons Austrian ambassador over ‘fundamental human freedoms’ in Vienna. “President Zoran Milanović said his office would summon the Austrian ambassador to convey his concern over ‘fundamental human freedoms’. He also said if the Dutch can comment on Bosnia and Herzegovina every week, he can comment on the situation in Rotterdam.”
CNN: Austria announces Europe’s first nationwide vaccine mandate and reimposes lockdown as Covid-19 soars. “Austria is going back into a national lockdown and plans to become the first country in Europe to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for all eligible people as the nation’s coronavirus crisis deepens, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced Friday.”
BBC: Covid: Austria orders nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated. “Austria is placing millions of unvaccinated people into lockdown from Monday amid record infection levels and growing pressure on hospitals.’We are not taking this step lightly but it is necessary,’ Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said. Unvaccinated people will only be able to leave home for a limited number of reasons, like working or buying food.”
Washington Post: Austria aims to ‘green light’ lockdown for unvaccinated citizens amid infection surge. “The government of Austria, one of Central Europe’s least vaccinated nations, said Friday that it will meet this weekend with the aim of implementing lockdown measures for people who have not been immunized against the coronavirus, as infections and hospitalizations have surged in recent days. Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg will host the meeting on Sunday but did not say when such measures might take effect, although he said it was likely to be rolled out nationally. Two of Austria’s hardest-hit provinces — Upper Austria and Salzburg — said they will introduce the measure for themselves on Monday, Reuters reported.”
Deutsche Welle: Coronavirus digest: Austria to apply tough restrictions on unvaccinated. “Austria is set to restrict entry to many public places for anyone not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Under new rules that go into effect nationwide on Monday, those who cannot provide proof of full vaccination will not be allowed to enter places like restaurants, bars and hairdressers. Unvaccinated people will also be barred from hotels, events with more than 25 people and ski lifts.”
Mashable: Nude art is getting censored on social media for a tourism board. So they went to OnlyFans.. “Vienna, Austria’s capital city, is known amongst other things for a rich history of art, measured by its many museums and infamous artistic revolt. But the tourist board found obstacles in its path to promote the city’s art, particularly the works that feature nudity. Turning to OnlyFans as a solution, Vienna has featured its ’18+ content’ on the site from artists known for ‘provocative’ portraits, some nude, like Egon Schiele, Richard Gerstl, and Amedeo Modigliani, saying it is providing ‘these artworks the freedom they deserve’.”
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