The European Commission has called for terrorist content posted online to be taken down within one hour, under a recommendation to EU states on how to tackle illegal online content. The proposal goes further than calls from some EU states, such as 24 hours under recent legislation passed in Germany and a two-hour limit called for by the UK government.
After working with the major social media and internet companies on self-regulation, the Commission is taking the next step of recommending action by national governments. If it doesn't see progress with the recommended measures, it may start the process of imposing EU-wide legislation.
The recommendation focuses particularly on combating terrorist content online. The Commission said that terrorist content "is most harmful in the first hours of its appearance online", so all companies should remove such content within an hour of being notified, "as a general rule".
In addition to referrals from users, internet companies should take advantage of 'trusted flaggers', giving recognised bodies fast-track procedures to take down illegal content. Websites should also be using proactive measures, including automated detection, to remove or disable terrorist content and stop it from reappearing once it has been removed. To assist smaller platforms, the Commission called on the internet majors to share their tools with other sites and the relevant authorities, including Europol.
EU states also need to work on handling referrals on online terrorist content and ensure they have mechanisms in place to respond quickly. The Commission wants the states to report on a regular basis, preferably every three months, on their referrals and follow-ups, as well as on overall cooperation with companies to curb terrorist online content.
Reporting legal obligation
The recommendation also includes a number of suggestions on how to tackle illegal content in general online, including clearer procedures for internet users to notify companies of suspect content and human intervention to ensure no legal content is inadvertently targeted. The Commission also called on EU states to establish legislation making it a legal requirement to notify the authorities if there is evidence of a serious criminal offence or a suspicion that illegal content is posing a threat to life or safety.
The Commission said it will launch shortly a new public consultation on the matter. It also wants member states and companies to report back within three months on how they're addressing the issue of online terrorist content and on other illegal content within six months.
Privatisation of enforcement
The industry group EuroISPA, representing ISPs, responded with a series of doubts about the Commission's proposal. "Burdening internet intermediaries with such immense responsibilities is not only troubling due to the lack of court oversight, it also serves to further reinforce the worrying trend of the privatisation of law enforcement online," the group said in a statement.
The concern is that the use of automated filters and 'trusted flaggers' to assess the legality of content would lead to over-blocking and censorship of lawful content. Proactive measures, especially in combination with such automated filtering methods, run counter to recent jurisprudence from the EU Court of Justice and national courts, the group said.
Furthermore, the EuroISPA called the one-hour time limit unreasonable. These limits "clearly reflect that European law-makers fail to understand that such obligations would be almost impossible to put in place for the vast number of small and medium size businesses all over Europe", the group said.
