Ministers intends to protect minors from illegal and harmful content online, in particular, ‘‘child sexual abuse material, grooming and cyber bullying.’’ This program will
operate from 2009 to 2013 and cost EUR 55 million. 1 Part of the program involves the
development of tracking technologies that will monitor child pornography and help
build a Europol database of illegal online behavior. 2
This program is the latest in a series of related initiatives introduced by the EU. The
first EU attempt, ‘‘Action Plan for a Safer Internet,’’ aimed at regulating content
deemed illegal or harmful by individual states, was passed in 1999 and has been in
force since 2002. 3 Illegal content varies between countries; Nazi propaganda, for example, is illegal in France and Germany but not in the United Kingdom. Harmful content
is defined more broadly and can include anything that would offend the values and
sentiments of races, religious groups, or other minorities. The action plan emphasized
the need to take steps in five broad areas in order to curb illegal and harmful content
on the Internet:
1. Promoting voluntary industry self-regulation and content monitoring schemes,
including the use of hotlines for the public to report illegal or harmful content;
2. Encouraging Internet service provider(s) to provide filtering tools and rating systems
that enable parents or teachers to regulate the access of Internet content by children in
their care, while allowing adults access to legal content;
3. Raising awareness about services offered by ICT firms to allow users to control access
to content;
4. Exploring the legal implications of promoting the safer use of the Internet; and
5. Encouraging international cooperation in the area of regulation.
For the most part, the 2002 action plan left it to individual states to take these steps.
The Safer Internet Program, passed in 2005, aims to give the EU broader powers and
new tools to achieve these goals itself. Among other things, the 2005 program funded
hotlines for citizens to report offending content, sponsored education efforts on consumer and data protection, and authorized new studies into filtering technology for
illegal content. 4
Two European directives may form the basis of expansive legislation regulating the
Internet in the coming years. The Electronic Commerce Directive limits the liability of
online providers for transferring, caching, and hosting illegal content. 5 The Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), meanwhile, aims to extend current EU regulation for broadcast television content to the Internet. 6 The regulations include, among
other things, the right of member states to sue content providers living outside their
jurisdictions and the responsibility to make harmful content inaccessible to minors.
Because the AVMSD was passed only in 2008, it remains unclear whether or not the
directive applies to all Internet video content, or just on-demand programming sent
over TCP/IP.
280
Europe Overview
operate from 2009 to 2013 and cost EUR 55 million. 1 Part of the program involves the
development of tracking technologies that will monitor child pornography and help
build a Europol database of illegal online behavior. 2
This program is the latest in a series of related initiatives introduced by the EU. The
first EU attempt, ‘‘Action Plan for a Safer Internet,’’ aimed at regulating content
deemed illegal or harmful by individual states, was passed in 1999 and has been in
force since 2002. 3 Illegal content varies between countries; Nazi propaganda, for example, is illegal in France and Germany but not in the United Kingdom. Harmful content
is defined more broadly and can include anything that would offend the values and
sentiments of races, religious groups, or other minorities. The action plan emphasized
the need to take steps in five broad areas in order to curb illegal and harmful content
on the Internet:
1. Promoting voluntary industry self-regulation and content monitoring schemes,
including the use of hotlines for the public to report illegal or harmful content;
2. Encouraging Internet service provider(s) to provide filtering tools and rating systems
that enable parents or teachers to regulate the access of Internet content by children in
their care, while allowing adults access to legal content;
3. Raising awareness about services offered by ICT firms to allow users to control access
to content;
4. Exploring the legal implications of promoting the safer use of the Internet; and
5. Encouraging international cooperation in the area of regulation.
For the most part, the 2002 action plan left it to individual states to take these steps.
The Safer Internet Program, passed in 2005, aims to give the EU broader powers and
new tools to achieve these goals itself. Among other things, the 2005 program funded
hotlines for citizens to report offending content, sponsored education efforts on consumer and data protection, and authorized new studies into filtering technology for
illegal content. 4
Two European directives may form the basis of expansive legislation regulating the
Internet in the coming years. The Electronic Commerce Directive limits the liability of
online providers for transferring, caching, and hosting illegal content. 5 The Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), meanwhile, aims to extend current EU regulation for broadcast television content to the Internet. 6 The regulations include, among
other things, the right of member states to sue content providers living outside their
jurisdictions and the responsibility to make harmful content inaccessible to minors.
Because the AVMSD was passed only in 2008, it remains unclear whether or not the
directive applies to all Internet video content, or just on-demand programming sent
over TCP/IP.
280
Europe Overview