EuroISPA recently published its points of critique on the German Draft Act amending the Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) on the European Commission’s portal for notifications of national laws: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/tris/en/search/?trisaction=search.detail&year=2020&num=174.

Having closely followed the ongoing discussions on the NetzDG on combatting hate speech online, EuroISPA voiced its concerns on certain details of the proposal which pose multiple risks, particularly in the context of the association’s work on EU initiatives on intermediary liability. EuroISPA fears an increased risk of fragmentation of the European internal market, with online platforms operating in different European Member States having to put in place specific compliance mechanisms for each individual market, thus making it virtually impossible for new entrants.

EuroISPA supports legislative consistency across the Digital Single Market, and therefore encouraged the German government to wait before further amending the NetzDG. This is particularly important in the context of the open public consultation on the Digital Services Act and how online platforms should be regulated in the future, which is open until 8^th September 2020.