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Summaries of EU Legislation

Fight against terrorism — dissemination of content online

 

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) 2021/784 on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It aims to enable the swift removal of terrorist content* online and sets out European Union (EU)-wide rules to this effect.

KEY POINTS

Scope

The regulation sets out EU-wide rules to tackle the misuse of hosting services for the public dissemination of terrorist content online. These rules cover:

  • the reasonable and proportionate duties of care to be applied by hosting service providers* (HSPs) to tackle the public dissemination of terrorist content through their services and ensure, where necessary, that such content is removed or access to it is disabled;
  • the measures to be put in place by EU Member States, in accordance with EU law and subject to fundamental rights safeguards, in order to:
    • identify and ensure the prompt removal of terrorist content by HSPs; and
    • facilitate cooperation among the competent Member States’ authorities, HSPs and, where appropriate, Europol.

The regulation applies to HSPs offering services in the EU, whether or not they are mainly based within the Member States.

Material disseminated to the public for educational, journalistic, artistic or research purposes, or for the purposes of preventing or countering terrorism, will not be considered to be terrorist content.

Terrorist offences are defined in Directive (EU) 2017/541 — see summary.

Measures

The regulation sets out a number of measures to address the public dissemination of terrorist content online including:

  • removal orders — HSPs issued with an order would have to remove or block such content within 1 hour;
  • procedures for cross-border removals — i.e. where the HSP is not based in the same Member State as the national authority issuing the removal order;
  • specific measures to be taken by HSPs exposed to such content;
  • preservation of such content by HSPs for administrative or judicial purposes.

Safeguards and accountability

The regulation includes a number of measures to ensure transparency and legal rights. These include rules covering:

  • transparency obligations for HSPs;
  • transparency reports by national authorities;
  • legal remedies for HSPs and content providers*;
  • complaints mechanisms;
  • information to content providers.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It applies from 7 June 2022.

BACKGROUND

KEY TERMS

Terrorist content: material that incites or solicits an individual or a group of people to commit a terrorist act, or that provides instruction on making weapons or on other methods or techniques for use in a terrorist attack.
Hosting service provider: storers of information provided by and at the request of a content provider.
Content provider: a user that has provided information that is, or that has been, stored and disseminated to the public by a hosting service provider.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) 2021/784 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online (OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, pp. 79-109)

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — A Counter-Terrorism Agenda for the EU: Anticipate, Prevent, Protect, Respond (COM(2020) 795 final, 9.12.2020)

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the Eurpoean Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the EU Security Union Strategy (COM(2020) 605 final, 24.7.2020)

Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (Recast) (OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, pp. 36-214)

Successive amendments to Directive (EU) 2018/1972 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on combating terrorism and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA and amending Council Decision 2005/671/JHA (OJ L 88, 31.3.2017, pp. 6-21)

Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services (OJ L 241, 17.9.2015, pp. 1-15)

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC (OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, pp. 73-114)

Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (recast) (OJ L 351, 20.12.2012, pp. 1-32)

See consolidated version.

Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive) (OJ L 95, 15.4.2010, pp. 1-24)

See consolidated version.

Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (‘Directive on electronic commerce’) (OJ L 178, 17.7.2000, pp. 1-16)

last update 30.08.2021

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