Brussels, 01 June 2015 – EuroISPA President Oliver Süme was in Seoul last week, addressing the South Korean Open Net-Harvard Berkman Center seminar on intermediary liability. Mr Süme briefed attendees on the liability environment facing European Internet intermediaries, and advised on the necessity of an innovation-friendly legislative framework to underpin economic growth.

Mr Süme’s address focused specifically on the European Union’s 2000 E-Commerce Directive, the legislative infrastructure that defines the European intermediary liability environment. In addition to unravelling the legal character of the Directive, Mr Süme also gave an insight into how the Directive has impacted on the operating environment for European ISPs on the ground.

The event featured addresses and panel discussions from other intermediary liability experts in the international community. It comes as South Korean lawmakers begin discussions on a new liability environment for intermediaries in the country and was organised to provide international perspectives on the makeup of an effective legislative framework. The audience included South Korean politicians, academia, civil society and industry actors.

The South Korean regulatory outlook is of particular interest to European ISPs, especially given the concern among the ICT community that recent amendments to the Korea Copyright Act may conflict with the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Indeed, the obligation for Online Service Providers operating in South Korean to filter content under what is effectively a Notice and Staydown mechanism is contradictory to the FTA, especially in the context the recent EU Court of Justice rulings that prohibit the kind of general monitoring that a filtering obligation requires.

The Open Net engagement continues EuroISPA’s latest targeted campaign around intermediary liability, in the context of the Commission’s recently-published Digital Single Market Strategy. It follows the EuroISPA event Intermediary Liability in the Digital Single Market and recent media op-eds and European Parliament engagements by EuroISPA Officers.

Speaking after the event, EuroISPA President Oliver Süme said: “Europe is a key player in the global Internet environment, and as the voice of the continent’s Internet sector EuroISPA takes every opportunity to use its experiences in Europe to help drive innovation-friendly smart regulation in a global context.”

Tomorrow’s publication of the Commission’s Digital Single Market strategy will be a key moment in the drive to create an enhanced and competitive digital Europe,  open to operators of any size, nature and establishment. That said, the European Internet Services Providers Association (EuroISPA) believes it is paramount that policymakers remain focused of the necessity of an innovation-friendly liability environment for Internet intermediaries. Without such, we fear the strategy’s lofty ambitions will be jeopardised.

The commitments the DSM will make on topics such as copyright reform, the free flow of data, and cross-border e-commerce constitute positive steps. Indeed, as having been a key participator in policy discussions on many areas of the strategy for several years, EuroISPA welcomes the Commission’s ambitions.

Nonetheless, it is paramount that we take this moment to reflect on the legislative infrastructure that forms the basis of a truly digital single market in Europe. An innovation-friendly intermediary liability environment, as prescribed by the 2000 E-Commerce Directive, will define the strategy’s success. We welcome the Commission’s acceptance in the DSM strategy that the intermediary liability environment enshrined in the E-Commerce Directive “has underpinned the development of the Internet in Europe”.

However, we are concerned about the impending strategy’s proposals to tackle illegal content online. The use of concepts such as “due diligence” and “duty of care” suggest that Internet intermediaries (as opposed to law enforcement authorities) will be asked to perform value judgments concerning the legality of certain pieces of content on the Internet. Such a legislative environment would place unworkable obligations on intermediaries, and would undermine the role of the courts in determining disputes over competing rights.

EuroISPA President Oliver Süme said: “EuroISPA looks forward to working with EU policymakers to ensure the right legislative infrastructure is maintained. The existing EU intermediary liability ethos has allowed Europe to be innovative, connected and competitive in all things digital. By maintaining this ethos when implementing the DSM strategy, EU policymakers will have the best chance of unleashing the digital single market’s growth and jobs potential.“

New data on the performance of European Internet Hotlines has further highlighted their effectiveness as a means of fighting Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) online. The data, compiled by the INHOPE network of 51 Hotlines in 45 countries worldwide, point to an ever-improving reporting and takedown rate of illegal content.

In 2014, 98{326604f503d13f2b703ea6d6d6f2aff95b8843509e3b22769667493fe00ca42d} of verified reports of CSAM on the Internet were forwarded to law enforcement within 24 hours. This represents an 8{326604f503d13f2b703ea6d6d6f2aff95b8843509e3b22769667493fe00ca42d} increase since 2011, a notable improvement given the already impressive figures.

Moreover, the coordination of CSAM removal between Hotlines, law enforcement, and Internet Services Providers has continued its upward trend. 93{326604f503d13f2b703ea6d6d6f2aff95b8843509e3b22769667493fe00ca42d} of verified CSAM was removed from public access within 72 hours, a 13{326604f503d13f2b703ea6d6d6f2aff95b8843509e3b22769667493fe00ca42d} improvement on the previous year.

These latest INHOPE figures illustrate the essential role played by the global network of Internet Hotlines in ensuring the effectiveness of the Notice and Takedown mechanism. EuroISPA remains a proud partner of INHOPE, with the 2300 ISPs represented by EuroISPA cooperating with and supporting Hotlines to create a safer Internet environment for children. In addition to this, EuroISPA members in Germany, France, Ireland and Austria oversee the management of their countries’ national Hotlines.

EuroISPA Safer Internet committee Co-Chairs Carole Gay and Paul Durrant said, “These figures highlight how an integrated network of Hotlines is essential for coordinating the fight against CSAM, a fight that is not confined by national borders. 

It is essential that the European network of Hotlines remains strong, through sustainable European Commission co-funding. The fight against CSAM is a societal one; and industry cannot be expected to carry the burden alone.”

See a full overview of the INHOPE Hotline data for 2014

European Internet Services Providers Association (EuroISPA) Officer Innocenzo Genna has been elected as a new member of the European Internet Forum (EIF) Board of Management. In his new capacity, Mr Genna will help the European political leadership to develop policy that is responsive to the challenges of the worldwide digital transformation.

Mr Genna brings to the EIF board a depth of experience of working within the EU policymaking sphere. He is an expert of European regulation and policies in the areas of Internet, telecommunications and ICT. Having played a leading role in EuroISPA for over a decade, he has worked with various actors in the digital sphere to help create a legislative environment that encourages innovation and secures the fundamental open characteristics of the Internet.

The EIF is at the crossroads of policymaking, industry, and civil society, and as such serves as a crucial space where insightful discussions on digital policy can take place. Mr Genna’s EuroISPA experience is an asset in this regard, as through its transversal membership of 2300 firms along the Internet value chain, the association occupies a pivotal position in the European digital landscape.

EuroISPA Officer Innocenzo Genna said: “The next three years promise to be eventful ones for the Internet sector. At this time the work of the EIF is more important than ever, and it is essential that the Forum’s Board facilitates insightful discussions that can feed into policymaking.  Alongside my fellow Board members, I aim to optimise the Forum’s impact as Europe continues this digital transformation”