Open Letter to the European Commission - On the Importance of Preserving the Consistency and Integrity of the EU Acquis Relating to Content Monitoring within the Information Society
Institute for Theory and Future of Law, University of Innsbruck; Hans-Bredow-Institute for Media Research; Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
French National Center for Scientific Research; Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) - Center for International Studies and Research (CERI)
University of Copenhagen, Centre for Information and Innovation Law (CIIR); University of Oslo, Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law (NRCCL)
Date Written: September 30, 2016
Abstract
The recent developments, starting with the Communication on Online Platforms and the Digital Single Market Opportunities and Challenges for Europe released on 25/05/2016, followed by a series of proposals (Proposal for a Directive amending the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on copyright in the Digital Single Market) and soft law initiatives (the EU Internet Forum against Terrorism and the Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online) seriously put at risk the consistency and integrity of the EU acquis related to the information society. A key component of this acquis is the prohibition of general monitoring obligations to the benefit of providers of intermediary services. It is a means to achieve at least two central objectives: the encouragement of innovation as well as the protection of fundamental rights of all Internet users, namely the rights protected by Articles 8 and 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights. Yet, the proposed Copyright Directive, in particular, seems to negatively affect both the domain and effect of Article 15 of the E-commerce Directive. The signatories of this open letter therefore urge the European Commission to take into account the human rights dimension of Article 15 of the E-commerce Directive, as made explicit by the Court of the Justice of the European Union, and to make sure its implications are carefully examined across sectors.
Stalla-Bourdillon, Sophie and Rosati, Eleonora and Kettemann, Matthias C. and Wagner, Ben and Turk, Karmen and Kuczerawy, Aleksandra and Sartor, Giovanni and Polanski, Paul and Borghi, Maurizio and Tréguer, Félix and Dulong de Rosnay, Melanie and Guadamuz, Andres and Peguera, Miquel and Bellan, Alberto and Montagnani, Maria Lillà and Tourette, Alexandre and Farrand, Benjamin and Farrand, Benjamin and O'Dell, Eoin and Angelopoulos, Christina and Husovec, Martin and Roquilly, Christophe and Voorhoof, Dirk and Ausloos, Jef and Valcke, Peggy and Lievens, Eva and Westman, Daniel and Giovanella, Federica and Jondet, Nicolas and Jondet, Nicolas and Rendas, Tito and Savin, Andrej and Gęsicka, Daria and Maier, Henrike and Siwicki, Maciej and Tsakarestou, Betty and Doukidis, Georgios and Polykalas, Spyros and Konidaris, Agisilaos and Edwards, Lilian and Knight, Alison and Schwemer, Sebastian Felix, Open Letter to the European Commission - On the Importance of Preserving the Consistency and Integrity of the EU Acquis Relating to Content Monitoring within the Information Society (September 30, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2850483
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