We acknowledge and strongly support the efforts made by the EU institutions to strengthen the protection of privacy online. We optimistically await the concrete effects of the new Regulation which will enter in to force in May 2018.

We see, on the other hand, that there should be a better coordination between data protection and the activities concerning the suppression of illegal content online, especially with reference, on one hand, to illegal sexually explicit content with the primary goal to protect children, minors and human beings in general from abuse and, on the other hand, taking into account the worrying increase of politically extremist factions within the Member States.

Actions

Therefore, by acknowledging the fact that the EU has no competence for what concerns harmonization of criminal law, we nevertheless propose that steps forwards should be undertaken through the following activities, which should be carried out by the competent authorities both at community and at national level:

  1. Creation of a clear and detailed definition of “illegal content online” on which the authorities of the Member States agree upon;
  2. Creation of a list of typical illegal contents online;
  3. Creation of a list of keywords to be used in the online search for illegal contents online;
  4. Development of increasingly intelligent information technology and tools for automatic content search and identification of the origin of illegal content online;
  5. Opening of automatic channels for reporting content to national law enforcement agencies of the Member States;
  6. Creation of partnerships with social media and large web platforms for searching and reporting illegal online content;
  7. Implementation of best practices for companies to search for and report on illegal online content;
  8. Implementation of cyber safety courses for users to search for and report illegal online content;
  9. Identification of penalties for the production of illegal content online through consultation between the Member States;
  10. Identification of penalties for the diffusion of illegal content online through consultation between the Member States;
  11. Identification of penalties for failure to report illegal content online through consultation between the Member States.

Read the impact assessment on the European Commission’s website >

AUTHORS

Gabriele Pierini, Ludovico Lenners and Leonardo Pasqui, Assistants – Presidency Office; Federico Pieri, President.

PEER REVIEWERS

Ted Oakes, Assistant – Public Relations Unit.

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