The eco Association strongly criticizes the fact that website blocking has once again been instituted at EU level. On Tuesday, the EU Parliament endorsed a regulation allowing European consumer protection agencies to impose website blocking. In the purported interests of consumer protection, this will allow them to remove offers from the Internet without requiring judicial approval.
“The regulation is both problematic and disproportionate; it paves the way for the creation of a blocking or censorship infrastructure for websites. At the same time, this regulation does not contribute anything to a sustainable solution to consumers’ problems: website blocks are not suitable for the enforcement of rights, which means that authorities should also not avail of this option,” states Oliver SĂĽme, eco Director for Policy & Law.
According to the Internet Industry Association, it would make far more sense to take consistent action against the providers of fraudulent websites and to prosecute them under criminal law. “We advocate the effective enforcement of consumer rights against fraudulent providers, but website blocking is not suitable for this purpose. In a constitutional state, authorities must not be made the decision-making body and courts should not be excluded, especially if this could have an impact on the general freedom of expression on the Internet,” warns Süme.
