40 Amendments of Sabine VERHEYEN related to 2018/0331(COD)
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) The application of this Regulation should not affect the application of Article 14 of Directive 2000/31/EC8 . In particular, any measures taken by the hosting service provider in compliance with this Regulation, including any proactive measures, should not in themselves lead to that service provider losing the benefit of the liability exemption provided for in that provision, recalling that Article 14 requires service providers to act expeditiously to remove or to disable access to illegal content upon receiving knowledge of illegal activity or information. This Regulation leaves unaffected the powers of national authorities and courts to establish liability of hosting service providers in specific cases where the conditions under Article 14 of Directive 2000/31/EC for liability exemption are not met. _________________ 8 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, p. 1).
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
(6 a) The obligations laid down in this Regulation should not affect the duty and ability of national authorities and courts to take appropriate, reasonable and proportionate actions against criminal offences in accordance with national law.
Amendment 90 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9 a (new)
Recital 9 a (new)
(9 a) Where the disseminated material is published under the editorial responsibility of a content provider, any decision as to the removal of such content can only be made based on a juridical order. This is necessary in order to fully respect the law of the Union and the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom and pluralism of the media as enshrined in Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
(1) 'hosting service provider' means a provider of information society services consisting in the storage of informationcontent provided by and at the request of the content provider and in making the information stored available to third parties;
Amendment 198 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2
(2) 'content provider' means a user who has provided informationcontent that is, or that has been, stored at the request of the user by a hosting service provider;
Amendment 203 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – introductory part
(5) 'terrorist content' means one or more of the following informationany available content, other than content used for educational, research, journalistic and other editorial purposes, provided that it does not incite the commission of violence, which is connected to a terrorist organisation as listed by the EU or UN on designated lists, and which may contribute to the commission of intentional acts, which constitute offences under national law, as listed in Article 3(1)(a) to (i) of Directive 2017/741/EU, by:
Amendment 215 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point b
(b) inciting and encouraging the contribution to terrorist offences;
Amendment 220 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point c
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point c
(c) promoting the activities of a terrorist group, in particular by encouraging the participation in, meeting with, communicate with or support to a terrorist group within the meaning of Article 2(3) of Directive (EU) 2017/541, or by encouraging the dissemination of terrorist content;
Amendment 222 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point c
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point c
(c) promoting the activities of a terrorist group, in particular by inciting and encouraging the participation in or support to a terrorist group within the meaning of Article 2(3) of Directive (EU) 2017/541;
Amendment 227 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point d
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point d
(d) instructing on methods or techniques for the purpose of committing terrorist offences.Does not affect the English version.)
Amendment 238 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
(8) 'referral' means a notice by a competent authority or, where applicable, a relevant Union body to a hosting service provider about informationcontent that may be considered terrorist content, for the provider’s voluntary consideration of the compatibility with its own terms and conditions aimed to prevent dissemination of terrorism content;
Amendment 242 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9 a (new)
(9 a) ‘competent authority’ means a body, including judicial, with the relevant expertise designated or created by the Member State for the purpose of this Regulation.
Amendment 259 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. Hosting service providers shall remove terrorist content or disable access to it wimmediately and no later thian one hour from receipt of the removal order.
Amendment 265 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) a comprehensive statement of reasons explaining why the content is considered terrorist content, at least, by reference to the categories of terrorist content listed in Article 2(5);
Amendment 298 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 4
Article 5 – paragraph 4
4. The referral shall contain sufficiently detailed information, including a comprehensive list of the reasons why the content is considered terrorist content, a URL and, where necessary, additional information enabling the identification of the terrorist content referred.
Amendment 305 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Hosting service providers shall, where appropriate, take proactive measures to protect their services against the disseminationrepeated uploading of terrorist content which has already been identified as such by the competent authorities. The measures shall be effective and proportionate, taking into account the risk and level of exposure to terrorist content, the fundamental rights of the users, and the fundamental importance of the freedom of expression and information in an open and democratic society.
Amendment 306 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Hosting service providers shall, where appropriate, take proactive measures to protect their services against the dissemination of terrorist content. The measures shall be effective, targeted and proportionate, taking into account the risk and level of exposure to terrorist content, and strike a balance with the fundamental rights of the users, and the fundamental importance of the freedom of expression and information in an open and democratic society.
Amendment 307 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Hosting service providers shall, where appropriate, take proactive measures to protect their services against the dissemination of terrorist content. The measures shall be effective, targeted and proportionate, taking into account the risk and level of exposure to terrorist content, and strike a balance with the fundamental rights of the users, and the fundamental importance of the freedom of expression and information in an open and democratic society.
Amendment 309 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) effectively preventing the re-upload of content which has previously been removed or to which access has been disabled because it is considered to be terrorist content;
Amendment 312 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Article 6 – paragraph 3
3. Where the competent authority referred to in Article 17(1)(c) considers that the proactive measures taken and reported under paragraph 2 are disproportionate or are insufficient in mitigating and managing the risk and level of exposure, it may request the hosting service provider to adapt the measures already taken or to take specific additional proactive measures. For that purpose, the hosting service provider shall cooperate with the competent authority referred to in Article 17(1)(c) with a view to identifying the changes or specific measures that the hosting service provider shall put in place, establishing key objectives and benchmarks as well as timelines for their implementation.
Amendment 315 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 4
Article 6 – paragraph 4
4. Where no agreement can be reached within the three months from the request pursuant to paragraph 3, the competent authority referred to in Article 17(1)(c) may issue a decision imposing specific additional necessary and proportionate proactive measures. The decision shall take into account, in particular, the type of content hosted on the service, the technical feasibility of the measures, the economic capacity of the hosting service provider and the effect of such measures on the fundamental rights of the users and the fundamental importance of the freedom of expression and information. Such a decision shall be sent to the main establishment of the hosting service provider or to the legal representative designated by the service provider. The hosting service provider shall regularly report on the implementation of such measures as specified by the competent authority referred to in Article 17(1)(c).
Amendment 320 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(b a) the treatment of complaints issued in accordance with Article 10.
Amendment 327 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1
1. Hosting service providers shall set out in their terms and conditions their policy to collaborate with the competent judicial or independent administrative authorities and to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content, including, where appropriate, a meaningful explanation of the functioning of proactive measures including the use of automated tools.
Amendment 330 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
2. Hosting service providers and competent authorities and Union bodies shall publish annual transparency reports on action taken against the dissemination of terrorist content.
Amendment 333 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. Transparency reports of the hosting service providers shall include at least the following information:
Amendment 339 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) detailed information about the hosting service provider’s measures to prevent the re-upload of content which has previously been removed or to which access has been disabled because it is considered to be terrorist content;
Amendment 344 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point d
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point d
(d) overview and outcome ofassessment of the effectiveness of the complaint procand redures.s mechanisms
Amendment 352 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 2
2. Safeguards shall consist, in particular, of human oversight and verifications wherof the appropriate and, in any event,ness of the decision to remove or deny access to content, in particular with regard to the right to freedom of expression and information. Human oversight shall be required where a detailed assessment of the relevant context is required in order to determine whether or not the content is to be considered terrorist content.
Amendment 359 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 1
1. HThe relevant Union bodies and competent authorities shall, in co- operation with hosting service providers shall, establish effective and accessible mechanisms allowing content providers whose content has been removed or access to it disabled as a result of a referral pursuant to Article 5 or of proactive measures pursuant to Article 6, to submit a complaint against the action of the hosting service provider requesting reinstatement of the content.
Amendment 361 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 1
1. Hosting service providers shall establish expeditious, effective and accessible complaints and redress mechanisms allowing content providers whose content has been removed or access to it disabled as a result of a referral pursuant to Article 5 or of proactive measures pursuant to Article 6, to submit a substantiated complaint against the action of the hosting service provider requesting reinstatement of the content.
Amendment 367 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Article 11 – paragraph 1
1. Where hosting service providers removed terrorist content or disable access to it, they shall make available to the content provider information on the removal or disabling of access to terrorist content within 24 hours.
Amendment 391 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) oversee the implementapplication of proactive measures pursuant to Article 6;
Amendment 394 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 17 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Member States shall ensure that ‘competent authority’ means a national or European body with the power to issue, enforce and amend binding legal orders in their relevant jurisdictions.
Amendment 398 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) Article 6(2) and (4) (reports on proactive measures and the adoption of measuressuch following a decision imposing specific proactive measures);
Amendment 399 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) Article 9 (safeguards in relregarding the use and implementation tof proactive measures);
Amendment 401 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 18 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. Member States shall ensure that, when determining the type and level of penalties, the competent authorities take into account all relevant circumstances, in particular in the case of SMEs, including:
Amendment 405 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 3 – point e a (new)
Article 18 – paragraph 3 – point e a (new)
(e a) the nature and size of the hosting service providers, in particular microenterprises or small-sized enterprises, within the meaning of the Commission recommendation 2003/361/EC.
Amendment 408 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1
Article 19 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 20 in order to supplement this Regulation with the necessary technical requirements for the electronic means to be used by competent authorities for the transmission of removal orders.
Amendment 409 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 2
Article 19 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt such delegated acts to amend Annexes I, II and III in order to effectivecompetently address a possible need for improvements regarding the content of removal order forms and of forms to be used to provide information on the impossibility to execute the removal order.
Amendment 411 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 2
Article 20 – paragraph 2
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 19 shall be conferred on the Commission for an in determinate period of time3 years from [date of application of this Regulation].