What were the efforts of Walter Keim born 1948 in Germany?

Walter Keim (born 25. March 1948) is a German-born civil rights activist and retired professor known for his extensive efforts to promote freedom of information (FOI) and patients' rights across Europe. [1, 2]

His primary contributions include:

Freedom of Information Advocacy

• Legislative Influence in Germany: Keim is credited as a catalyst for Germany's federal Freedom of Information Act (Informationsfreiheitsgesetz or IFG). In 2001, he submitted a petition to the Bundestag that led the President of the Bundestag to formally request the Chancellor to draft the law in 2004.

• Legal Challenges: He has brought multiple cases against Germany to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), specifically challenging the lack of FOI laws in certain states like Bavaria.

• "Netizen" Activism: He pioneered the use of the internet to archive and publish correspondence with government authorities, creating transparency regarding administrative secrecy. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Patients' Rights and Mental Health

• Ending Forced Medication: Keim is a prominent critic of involuntary psychiatric treatment. He advocates for medication-free treatment options and has published articles in the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association on the effects of antipsychotics.

• Human Rights Advocacy: He is a member of the European Network of (Ex-)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (ENUSP) and fights for health services based on informed consent rather than coercion. [1, 2, 4, 5]

Other Civil Rights Efforts

• Press Accountability: He has successfully filed complaints with the German Press Council regarding sensationalist reporting, resulting in official reprimands for certain publications.

• Berufsverbot: He engaged in public campaigns against the re-establishment of "Berufsverbot" (employment bans) in Germany. [6]

Keim spent much of his professional life in Norway as an Associate Professor of Informatics and e-Learning at the Sør-Trøndelag University College (now part of NTNU).