Brussels, 12 November 2021 – EuroISPA, the pan-European association of Internet Services Providers Associations, co-signed a letter calling on the European Parliament to develop a robust regulatory digital framework for the EU with the Digital Services Act (DSA), as part of a broader coalition of leading start-ups and SMEs, alongside technology, advertising, and media organisations of different sizes.

The letter highlights the key areas the signatories believe should be focused on in order to ensure a timely co-legislative process, which will be crucial to strengthening the EU internal market. The letter comes in light of the upcoming Internal Market and Consumer Affairs Committee (IMCO) vote on the matter and notes the need to:

• Maintain the horizontal approach of the Digital Services Act
• Preserve and build on the cornerstones of the e-Commerce Directive
• Build a workable, balanced, future-proof Regulation
• Ensure consistency with the EU’s existing legal framework

Alexandra Laffitte, President of EuroISPA, commented: “EuroISPA is in a unique position to represent the needs of European Internet Services Providers, so we feel it is particularly crucial to highlight that the DSA should maintain the e-Commerce Directive principles at its core while remaining horizontal in its scope; it should not address issues that are best left to specific, vertical legislation. Along with our fellow signatories, we hope that this letter will emphasise our willingness to bring expertise to the discussions at any point and that it will help policy makers tackle the DSA in a timely and relevant manner.”

EuroISPA represents over 2,000 Internet Service Providers of all sizes across Europe and is an advocate for the needs of the wider internet industry. The Association aims to ensure that policymakers are aware of the needs of EuroISPA’s members in order to make informed decisions.

Read the letter in full here:

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EuroISPA joins industry members to co-sign a letter to EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo calling for a swifter agreement on secure transatlantic data flows, particularly in the context of the invalidated EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework.

Signatories recognise the ongoing efforts to create a new, strengthened EU-U.S. framework for the transfer of personal information, whilst highlighting that it is crucial that this be achieved as soon as possible, so as to ensure the growth and innovation of businesses in both the EU and the US.

Read the letter here:

April 30 2021 – Brussels

Following last week’s adoption of the EU Regulation to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content online by the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee (Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs), the Regulation has now been adopted by the Plenary in second reading, without a final vote.  

Malcolm Hutty, Chair of the Intermediary Liability Committee, commented: “While we welcome several improvements in the final text, EuroISPA regrets the inclusion of an inflexible one-hour timeframe to execute removal orders. Forcing companies to move too fast will inevitably impair the quality of decisions and will risk inappropriate removals of legitimate content and mis-use of the system. This will be especially problematic for smaller businesses without previous experience of encountering terrorist content, who will not have pre-existing relationships with anti-terrorist police and awareness of good practice guidance.”  

EuroISPA also notes that the text could be attacked at the domestic level leading to legal uncertainty for service providers. For instance, the final Regulation contains provisions which are similar to the rules established by the French Law on tackling hate speech online (so called “Avia law”), which were declared to be unconstitutional by the French Constitutional Council in 2020.  

At the same time, EuroISPA notes some important positive changes in the final text. For instance, penalties determined by Member States will need to take into account the nature and size of the hosting service provider, mitigating risks of high sanctions for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). “It was important that the regulation does not stipulate obligations to use automatic tools and pursue active content monitoring. However, we will have to observe how the relevant rules will turn out in practice”, said Malcolm Hutty.  

Going forward, EuroISPA’s national members will maintain a constructive dialogue with their respective Competent Authorities and will keep tackling terrorist content online efficiently and responsibly, in order to ensure a safe Internet for EU citizens and businesses.   

This week, EuroISPA co-signed a letter to representatives of the Council of the EU, the European Parliament and the European Commission on the fourth trilogue on the Proposal for a Regulation on Preventing the Dissemination of Terrorist Content online. We look forward to seeing the outcome of this trilogue, which we hope will take into account the items noted in this letter, including: clarifying the definition of terrorist content, empowering competent authorities to deal with this content effectively, ensuring that over-blocking does not take place, prohibiting general monitoring obligations for hosting service providers and protecting user data.

Read the letter here.

Brussels, February 18, 2020 – EuroISPA, an association of European Internet Services Providers, coordinates an event today to discuss encryption at the European Parliament together with the European Internet Forum (EIF). With data encryption as the core of its agenda, the event is hosted by MEPs Patrick Breyer and Rasmus Andresen, and gathers industry experts, policy makers, stakeholders, and civil society to discuss the future of encryption and data protection.

EuroISPA, a pan-European association which represents over 2,500 ISPs across the European countries, advocates for the needs of the wider internet industry, particularly in relation to safer internet, cybersecurity data protection, and innovation. Encryption tools are part of the framework which allow internet and online services to be trusted and ensure ongoing cybersecurity and data protection. The absence of encryption weakens this trust, and concerns about illegal activities online have led to debates around the decryption of data for crime investigations and interception of criminal communication.

Dr Maximilian Schubert, President of EuroISPA, stated, ‘In discussing encryption, it is crucial to have an evidence-based exchange of information on the security issues a lack of encryption presents. EuroISPA aims to highlight the crucial role of encryption in enhancing users’ privacy, trust in the internet, and free expression online. Weakening encryption through software backdoors puts these at risk: while such tools might initially help law enforcement to prosecute criminals, in the long run they can potentially be exploited by hackers or even enable mass surveillance. As such, there can be no middle ground in designing online security. We hope that by gathering experts from Europe and afar, this event will help establish a clearer exchange of knowledge around these issues, and highlight both the industry’s and users’ requirements.’

Gathering attendees from across Europe, the event aims to allow for a balanced exchange on the benefits and concerns around the protection of encrypted data. Speakers include, Bert Hubert, Founder of PowerDNS, Cathrin Bauer-Bulst, Acting Head of the Cybercrime Unit, European Commission DG HOME, Ceren Ünal, Regional Policy Manager Europe, Internet Society, and Birgitta Jónsdóttir, Internet Archive Fellow, Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as EIF members.

‘An effective exchange of ideas and the establishment of priorities should be at the core of policy decisions that impact on the data privacy and cybersecurity of consumers and users, and therefore on their fundamental rights. At EuroISPA, we hope that enabling multilateral discussions will lead to a broader understanding of the implications of data decryption, as well as allowing for an exploration of alternate ways of assisting law enforcement whilst protecting user rights,’ concluded Schubert.