The Federal Government wants to quickly settle the long dispute with the EU Parliament over the planned regulation against terrorist propaganda on the Internet in view of the recent attacks in Vienna and Nice, for example. In her role at the head of the EU Council of Ministers, she sent an extended compromise paper to the other member states last week. She writes: More than two years after the original initiative of the EU Commission, it is “high time” to pass the law.

Two-stage procedure When the biggest stumbling block of the cross-border deletion orders to service providers from another member state, the government brings a two-stage procedure into play: The controversial content must be “temporarily” within one Hour to be deleted. The country in which the host provider is based should check foreign deletion requests for their legality and confirm or reject them within 24 hours. In the latter case, the operator would only have to provide the enumerated content in the country that made the request.

The procedure should be seen in connection with other corrections with which the protection of fundamental rights should be strengthened, it is said in the classified as confidential paper, which the civil rights organization Statewatch has published. Article 9a now expressly provides for an effective remedy against a deletion order and increased requirements for the competent authorities. Europol is also obliged to submit an annual report on all relevant requests.

If the authorized authority issues a request for deletion for the first time, it should, as a rule, provide the provider with information on the procedure and applicable deadlines at least twelve hours in advance . Contrary to the insistence of Parliament, however, the member states themselves could designate the competent administrative, law enforcement and judicial authorities. However, they should be listed in an easily accessible online register in order to be able to quickly check the authenticity of their arrangements.

“Automated tools” According to the Council Presidency, operators of social networks, for example, no longer have to use any “proactive” measures to keep terrorist content out. “Specific” resources are now required. This could include operational activities such as the use of human resources or technical instruments, according to a recital. “Automated tools” should also be used, emphasizes the federal government, thus alluding to the highly competitive upload filters. However, these would not be compulsory.

Germany has not built in a clause stating that “content that is distributed for educational, artistic, press or research purposes or for the purpose of raising awareness of terrorist activities” does not exist should be deleted. The “expression of polemical or controversial views in the context of a public debate” must also remain possible. Journalistic standards should be taken into account in such an assessment.

According to the type of house In order to further accommodate the MPs, the top of the council also deleted an article according to which service providers should voluntarily check official references to terrorist content. Those affected would not judge such reports according to the law, but according to their own, often vague and far-reaching house standards, parliamentarians had feared. The Federal Government now approves of this instrument in a recital as a tried and tested “effective and rapid means”. So it should ultimately be retained.

In addition, there is the documented reference that the EU countries “can choose from a wide range of different penalties”. The presidency wants to strengthen proportionality and reduce the burden and penalties for small and medium-sized companies. Minor disregard should go unpunished the first time and otherwise only be subject to a warning. Serious and systematic violations, on the other hand, could be followed by fines of up to four percent of a provider’s worldwide turnover.

Remove unpleasant things Despite the concessions, Hungary’s Prime Minister Orbán could “order the deletion of Internet publications in Germany”, said MEP Patrick Breyer from the Pirate Party, who was dissatisfied with the new version. Small providers could not reliably meet the deletion period of one hour. Even private website operators would have to be available around the clock in order to react to deletion orders within an hour.

It is unacceptable that the Hungarian or Polish government, for example, “declares unpleasant organizations to be terrorist and have their website deleted in another EU member state, “emphasized the Left Bundestag member Andrej Hunko. In any case, there is no need for a statutory provision, since the providers are already willing to delete. The next and probably final round of talks between the EU bodies should take place next week or at the beginning of December.

(kbe)