After more than 50 years, the issue of treason has returned with a bang onto Germany's public agenda. At first glance, this may seem a domestic story. Yet, it touches upon an increasingly contested relationship between freedom of expression, democracy and national security that affects not only this country but all digital societies.
On 30 July 2015, the German Federal Public Prosecutor notified
two prominent journalists about an investigation on suspicion of
treason against them. The journalists run Netzpolitik.org, one
of the oldest and most appreciated German language blogs with a
focus on internet politics. It covers and uncovers relevant
European policy issues and legislative actions. Last year, in
2014, the editors received a prestigious media award (Grimme
Online Award), and this year, they won a prize in the "Land of
Ideas” competition, ironically co-sponsored by the German
government. Popular topics on the blog are net neutrality,
telecommunication regulation, data protection and, obviously,
surveillance. Many journalists use it as a source for their
work. Internet researchers like me, too. Creating public
awareness by leaking secret documents of relevance to the
digital society is part of Netzpolitik.org's mission. The
website's editors regard Netzpolitik.org as a hybrid of a news
channel and an NGO advocating digital freedom and openness.
[…]
Continua qui:
http://policyreview.info/articles/news/netzpolitikorg-affair-turning-point/372