Terrorist Content Online Regulation – Controversies in Trilogue
On 21 January 2020, the LIBE Committee discussed the Commission proposal for a regulation on preventing the dissemination of terrorist content online (for the proposal, see eucrim 2/2018, 97-98 and the article by G. Robinson, eucrim 4/2018, p. 234). Rapporteur Patryk Jaki (ECR, PL) outlined that agreements with the trilogue partners were reached on broad parts of the proposal. The Commission still has reservations, however, insisting that cross-border removal orders be directly enforced by hosting service providers and voicing concern over the deployment of automated detection tools. By contrast, MEPs stressed that the freedom of expression must also be safeguarded in the Internet; they are against the obligation to use ex-ante control measures or “upload filters” (see also the report on the proposal by LIBE member Daniel Dalton of 9 April 2019; see also in this context the EP resolution of 17 April 2019 and eucrim 1/2019, p. 21). Civil stakeholders identified additional critical issues and oppose the EU’s approach (see eucrim 1/2019, p. 22). In his formal comments of February 2019, the European Data Protection Supervisor encouraged the EU legislator to respect fundamental rights, in particular data protection, and to take into account the principles of quality of law and economic certainty (see details at eucrim 1/2019, p. 21).