Interior Minister Igor Taro spoke about his plans on Vikerraadio. He said that public criticism could lead to thought control of officials. Taro sees no reason to step back, although he wanted to make monitoring terrorist propaganda punishable.
Taro explained that yesterday he simply explained his plans. He said they never intended to create thought control or thought police. But now he understands that this plan is not the right time. Sometimes it is better to stop and rethink.
Taro asked what feedback convinced him. Was it his party, the Reform Party, or the public? He said they did not have enough time to discuss thoroughly in such a short period. They listened to experts' opinions and saw that the plan was confusing.
Taro recalled that he has changed his mind before. For example, with number recognition cameras, he first listened to experts and then made a decision. He said that now the same principle applies: listen to experts and make a decision.
Taro explained that officials must do their work and express their thoughts. If they cannot do this, they are useless. He did not want to impose thought control.
He said that Estonia would not implement thought control. His plan was not that. But criticism brought out the problems. He said the threat of terrorism is small, but work must continue.
Taro mentioned two examples where regulations should be better. One case was 10 years ago when someone went to fight in Syria. The other case was recently when someone became radicalized and attacked a prison officer.
Finally, Taro said he has taken responsibility and the mistake has been acknowledged. He asked if we want thought police and thought control for officials. In his opinion, it is necessary to allow free debate.