In its request on Thursday, the Freedom Party wanted to know whether the governor had an order to delete the data on cell phones and tablets and what could have been removed. According to FPO MP Christoph Bitschee, many Vorarlbergers asked themselves what Wallner was hiding.
The Social Democrats also made a request on Thursday. They want to know from which devices what data could have been deleted by Wallner. According to SPÖ deputy Manuela Auer, governors cannot decide for themselves what data is private on their work cell phones. For them, the question is also important whether the Governor’s brief messages are also backed up and archived. As per the rules of procedure, both the questions have to be answered within three weeks.
The NEOS parliamentary group also joined on Thursday afternoon, but addressed their request to Daniel Zadra (Greens), the state councilor responsible for IT, who last week informed WKStA of the intended data deletion.
Zadara: “had a specific request”
Zadra said of Wallner’s cell phone in an ORF Vorarlberg interview on Thursday: “There was a specific request for deletion and whether this data would also be irreversibly deleted.” When asked if he could deny that the data was removed from the IT department, Zadra replied that it was not his job to decide. Now it is the turn of the officers.
Wallner has emphasized several times that he will cooperate with all authorities, and I will do the same, Jadra says: “We must now make sure that we put political work in the foreground”.
Governor Wallner’s office also said that all data would be available and that he would cooperate fully with officials.
Eddy about the governor’s cell phone data
The official cell phone of Governor Marcus Wallner (ÖVP) is the subject of questioning from the SPÖ and FP in the state parliament. The question is whether the cell phone data could have been deleted. And if it could have happened, what data could it be.
Wallner’s statement in the state parliament
The cell phone exchange of Governor Wallner’s work When the WKSTA began to take interest in him, further questions arose. According to Wallner, he’s got a new cell phone and a new tablet, but none of the data has been deleted, he insisted.
In the state parliament session on Wednesday, Wallner explained why he had considered deleting the data from his old cell phone: “On my old cell phone – not reset and not deleted – there are several thousand private photos. I don’t know Whose business it is.”
Business Cell Phones: Hard to Pull the Limits
Private use of company cell phones is generally explicitly regulated, says constitutional expert Peter Buzzegger in an ORF Vorarlberg interview. In theory, the state of Vorarlberg, like every employer, should explicitly regulate private use. Private photos will be explicitly assigned. With chat messages, however, it becomes more difficult: “Ultimately, it is the body that decides what is to be held responsible for private communications.”
The situation is different in the case of private chats about filling positions: “Because this communication may be done in a private way, but it is one that belongs to a public function.” Wallner also has many works. He is the governor of the state, but also the state party president of the VP. “Of course, you can already start discussing which field belongs to which message.” And then it is hardly possible to draw a line between private messages and private messages. Furthermore, politicians should be clear that agreements are not made over mobile phones.
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