A regulation making it possible to impose on platforms the withdrawal in one hour of online messages, photos and videos
"of a terrorist nature"
received a final green light on Wednesday April 28, paving the way for its application next year in the 'European Union.
Following a debate in the European Parliament, the text was adopted at second reading without a vote, in the absence of any amendment to the compromise reached in December with the Council, an institution representing the Member States.
Read also: Algorithms to fight terrorism: what are we talking about?
"With this regulation we are going to strike a blow against terrorists"
, declared the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, welcoming the adoption of this text proposed by the European executive in 2018.
"Without online manuals for you explain how to do it is more difficult to make bombs.
Without propaganda videos it is more difficult to poison the minds of young people.
Without the spread of attacks online, it is more difficult to inspire others, ”
she said.
“The attack on the young policewoman in Rambouillet, the murder of Professor Samuel Paty in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine has recently demonstrated this again, social networks have a considerable relay and amplifier effect for calls for violence and terrorist propaganda ”
, underlined the French MEP Fabienne Keller (Renew Europe, centrists and liberals).
The regulations target the dissemination of texts, images, sound recordings and videos inciting to commit or contributing to
"terrorist offenses"
or glorifying these activities,
"including by disseminating material representing a terrorist attack"
.
Among its main provisions, it allows the “competent authorities” of a Member State to issue a withdrawal order to a platform established in another EU country.
The authorities empowered to issue these injunctions and impose sanctions will have to be defined by each member state.
Read also: Home visits, surveillance, data ... What the anti-terrorism bill contains
The service provider is obliged to withdraw or block access to the offending content in all EU countries, within one hour of receiving the order.
The competent authority of the State in which the platform is located has a right of inspection, to verify within 72 hours that the withdrawal decision is justified and that it does not violate fundamental rights and freedoms.
Complaints procedures are also provided for in the event of incorrect withdrawal or blocking.
The applicable sanctions may go up to fines of up to 4% of the platform's worldwide turnover in the event of persistent non-compliance with its obligations.
Risk of "censorship"
"The EU has today equipped itself with a new effective tool to fight terrorism"
, welcomed the rapporteur of the text, the Polish MEP Patryk Jaki (group of European Conservatives and Reformists, Eurosceptic right) , believing that the regulation ensures
"a good balance between security and freedom of expression on the Internet"
. The regulation excludes from its scope
"material disseminated for educational, journalistic, artistic or research purposes, or for the purpose of raising awareness against terrorist activities"
.
But the legislation raises the concerns of defenders of public freedoms.
Some sixty human rights organizations, associations of journalists and researchers, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Liberties and Reporters Without Borders, had called for the rejection of this text.
The short withdrawal period
"strongly encourages platforms to deploy automated content moderation tools, such as download filters"
, which cannot distinguish
"counter-speech, satire"
and threaten journalistic work, argued- they warn.
Read also: The strong measures of the anti-terrorism bill
"This regulation will have decisive consequences on our collective freedoms"
, also regretted the French MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens).
"Tomorrow, the interior ministry of a country will be able to have content that it has declared terrorist in the neighboring country to be deleted in one hour by contacting the platform that hosts it directly and without any authority. judicial (...) did not have a look on it "
beforehand, she denounced, pointing to the risk of
" censorship ".
The regulation of digital technology is also the subject of a vast draft legislation presented in December by the European Commission, aimed at putting an end to the abuses of the Internet giants, in terms of the dissemination of hate speech and the manipulation of the Internet. information or limitation of competition.
