A topic that we come across almost every day online is private search calls and missing person reports. “ The media and the police do this too ” - you read and hear that again and again. But what many people don't know: With private search calls and missing person reports, whether in Germany or Austria, you are definitely committing a criminal offense, even if at first glance they seem (subjectively) justified.
Private search calls!
This is what you need to know about wanted calls on social media:
- Only law enforcement authorities are allowed to publicly search for people.
- Criminals, not to mention suspects or people who are not even being investigated(!), also have personal rights. Nobody can override this with their own opinion.
- These personal rights may only be weakened under very specific circumstances. Requirements that only apply in very rare cases.
- Children and young people also have personal rights that may not be violated by private searches (pictures of supposedly wanted children, sick children, etc.).
- Anyone who violates the personal rights of third parties must expect expensive warnings, claims for damages and compensation for pain and suffering and may be committing criminal offenses.
- To be clear: private search calls can lead to criminal liability. It is very likely that at least civil claims will arise.
Private missing person reports!
This is what you need to know about missing person reports on social media:
Well-intentioned is not always well-done: Sharing private calls for missing people on social networks involves a number of pitfalls that can, under certain circumstances, be very problematic for the person sharing the message, but also for the missing person themselves.
Is the call real or a fake?
You can't answer this question unless you know the circumstances of the case and the story behind the missing people.
Maybe you fall for a fake and spread the data of a person who is either not missing at all or who has no consent for his photo to be published.
Danger: This can be expensive for you, and you may get to know the supposedly missing person personally in court with claims for recourse.
Is the person currently still missing?
You can't answer this question either. The authors of a private search may remember to report the discovery on their own site, but you will not be informed if you have not shared the request directly from the original site and subscribed to the site. So you shared a post that may no longer be relevant. The personal data of the person who is no longer missing remains on your side, although they would of course have to be deleted.
Danger: This can be expensive for you, and you may get to know the supposedly missing person personally in court with claims for recourse
What consequences does this have for the missing person?
Once a photo/poster with a name and personal information has been posted on the Internet, it can no longer be removed from the virtual world. The internet never forgets anything!
So a young person who may have “run away” and is desperately searched for privately on the Internet by his concerned relatives is always confronted with his adolescent past. And future employers also scour social media before hiring and try to get information about their new trainee or employee. Although “running away” is not a crime, it at least shows that the young person had some problem in his social environment, which is why he left it. Are you really doing him or her a favor?
Therefore, BE CAREFUL when sharing private missing person searches.
Sharing police calls for missing people, on the other hand, is expressly desired: The police are therefore extremely careful and only very rarely actually launch a public search for missing people. Beforehand, it is carefully considered whether the listed disadvantages of a public search are acceptable - precisely because the dangerous situation requires it. And: Data protection is always guaranteed here. That's why we don't put any personal data from people you're looking for directly on Facebook. When you receive search reports, you will always be redirected from here to the press portal. This is the only place where the personal data and photos of the people you are looking for are stored. And here they are immediately deleted by the police as soon as the danger has been averted. So if you share a police search, you won't have any problems because the police will ensure that the data is deleted. The link to the missing person report that you shared will then be ineffective. You have helped, have not fallen for a fake and are not exposed to any claims for recourse.
Basically!
Wanted calls and missing person reports that do not come from the police are punishable and dangerous because they may also affect people who are not involved. Confusion, similarity or malevolence can result in innocent people being hunted. It doesn't matter whether these search calls come from private sources or from the media: only law enforcement authorities are allowed to publicly search for people!
What can I share now?
If these are wanted calls and missing person reports from the law enforcement authorities / police, then you can spread them further as an Internet user! The reason for this is, among other things, that the police are required to publish the wanted calls and reports of missing persons as a report on their press portal. If you now share this report (link) and something changes in the situation because the search has been lifted or the missing person has been found again, then this will be announced directly in the press report!
In line with this topic:
Gulden Röttger Rechtsanwälte / Are private search calls on Facebook and the Internet legal?
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

