May 14, 2018

The Commission says that the availability and proliferation of illegal content online remains “an important public policy and security concern in the EU”. In particular, there are still concerns regarding the dissemination of terrorist content online, as well as of that of illegal hate speech, child sexual abuse material, or illegal commercial practices and infringements of intellectual property rights, selling of illicit drugs, counterfeits or other illicit goods.

On 28 September 2017, the Commission adopted a Communication with guidance on the responsibilities of online service providers in respect of illegal content online, followed by a Recommendation on measures to effectively tackle illegal content online on 1 March 2018.

The Commission has published an inception impact assessment and is collecting evidence on the effectiveness of measures and the scale of the problem. The Commission will explore, by the end of 2018, possible further measures to improve the effectiveness of combating illegal content online.

The consultation has two aims. The first part of the questionnaire is tailored to each individual type of respondent and aims to gather evidence and data on current practices, respondents’ experiences and organisations’ policies for tackling illegal content online. The second part of the survey aims to collect data on perceptions, opinions and preferences from all respondents as to potential policy options in addressing the challenge of illegal content online.

The consultation closes on 25 June 2018. To access the consultation, click here.