In the view of eco – Association of the Internet Industry, the recommendation published by the European Commission on the 1st of March on measures to combat illegal content on the Internet sends the wrong signal in the debate about the role of host providers in the fight against inappropriate online content. eco is also surprised by the haste with which this recommendation has now been published, given that the Commission announced at the end of September that it intended to first monitor developments until May 2018.
“Here the Commission is clearly undermining European fundamental values and contravening existing legal bases,” says Chairman of the Board at eco, Oliver Süme. The recommendation to use filters and proactive searches to filter content and prevent it from being uploaded again clearly violates the terms of the eCommerce Directive. With the expectation that terrorist content should be removed within an hour, Süme also believes that the Commission is edging alarmingly close to the highly controversial Network Enforcement Act in Germany.
eco will continue to play an active role in the dialog between the Internet industry and the Commission, as well as in the upcoming consultation process.
