{"id":1562,"date":"2019-03-07T09:53:10","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T17:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/netpolicy\/?p=1562"},"modified":"2019-03-08T00:23:26","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T08:23:26","slug":"one-hour-takedown-deadlines-the-wrong-answer-to-europes-content-regulation-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/netpolicy\/2019\/03\/07\/one-hour-takedown-deadlines-the-wrong-answer-to-europes-content-regulation-question\/","title":{"rendered":"One hour takedown deadlines: The wrong answer to Europe\u2019s content regulation question"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019ve written a lot recently about the dangers that the EU Terrorist Content regulation poses to <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/netpolicy\/2018\/11\/21\/the-eu-terrorist-content-regulation-a-threat-to-the-ecosystem-and-our-users-rights\/\">internet health and user rights<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/netpolicy\/2019\/02\/13\/terrorist_content_regulation\/\">efforts to combat violent extremism<\/a>. One aspect that\u2019s particularly concerning is the rule that all online hosts must remove \u2018terrorist content\u2019 within 60 minutes of notification. Here we unpack why that obligation is so problematic, and put forward a more nuanced approach to content takedowns for EU lawmakers.<\/p>\n<p>Since the early days of the web, \u2018notice &amp; action\u2019 has been the cornerstone of online content moderation. As there is so much user-generated content online, and because it is incredibly challenging for an internet intermediary to have oversight of each and every user activity, the best way to tackle illegal or harmful content is for online intermediaries to take \u2018action\u2019 (e.g. remove it) once they have been \u2018notified\u2019 of its existence by a user or another third party. Despite the fast-changing nature of internet technology and policy, this principle has shown remarkable resilience. While it often works imperfectly and <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/netpolicy\/files\/2016\/05\/Mozilla-IPRED-filing-April-2016.pdf\">there is much that could be done to make the process more effective<\/a>, it remains a key tool for online content control.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the EU\u2019s Terrorist Content regulation stretches this tool beyond its limit. Under the proposed rules, all hosting services, regardless of their size, nature, or exposure to \u2018terrorist content\u2019 would be obliged to put in place technical and operational infrastructure to remove content within <i>60 minutes <\/i>of notification. There\u2019s three key reasons why this is a major policy error:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Regressive burden:<\/strong> Not all internet companies are the same, and it is reasonable to suggest that in terms of online content control, those who <i>have<\/i> more should <i>do<\/i> more. More concretely, it is intuitive that a social media service with billions in revenue and users should be able to remove notified content more quickly than a small family-run online service with a far narrower reach. Unfortunately however, this proposal forces all online services &#8211; regardless of their means &#8211; to implement the same ambitious 60-minute takedown timeframe. This places a disproportionate burden on those least able to comply, giving an additional competitive advantage to the handful of already dominant online platforms.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Incentivises over-removal:<\/strong> A crucial aspect of the notice &amp; action regime is the post-notification review and assessment. Regardless of whether a notification of suspected illegal content comes from a user, a law enforcement authority, or a government agency, it is essential that online services review the notification to assess its validity and conformity with basic evidentiary standards. This \u2018quality assurance\u2019 aspect is essential given how often notifications are either inaccurate, incomplete, or <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/google-fake-dmca-takedown-requests\/?europe=true#fQHhkoEkwaqH\">in some instances, bogus<\/a>. However, a hard deadline of 60 minutes to remove notified content makes it almost impossible for most online services to do the kind of content moderation due diligence that would minimise this risk. What\u2019s likely to result is the over-removal of lawful content. Worryingly, the risk is especially high for \u2018terrorist content\u2019 given its context-dependent nature and<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.witness.org\/2019\/01\/witness-brings-together-voices-push-back-dangerous-dissemination-terrorist-content-proposal-civil-society-letter\/\"> the thin line between intentionally terroristic and good-faith public interest reporting.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Little proof that it actually works:<\/strong> Most troubling about the European Commission\u2019s 60-minute takedown proposal is that there doesn\u2019t seem to be any compelling reason <i>why <\/i>60 minutes is an appropriate or necessary timeframe. To this date, the Commission has produced no research or evidence to justify this approach; a surprising state of affairs given how radically this obligation departs from existing policy norms. At the same time, a \u2018hard\u2019 60 minute deadline strips the content moderation process of strategy and nuance, allowing for no distinction between type of terrorist content, it\u2019s likely reach, or the likelihood that it will incite terrorist offences. With no distinction there can be no prioritisation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For context, the decision by the German government to mandate a takedown deadline of 24 hours for \u2018obviously illegal\u2019 hate speech in its 2017 \u2018NetzDG\u2019 law sparked considerable controversy on the basis of the risks outlined above. The Commission\u2019s proposal brings a whole new level of risk. Ultimately, the 60-minute takedown deadline in the Terrorist Content regulation is likely to undermine the ability for new and smaller internet services to compete in the marketplace, and creates the enabling environment for interference with user rights. Worse, <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/netpolicy\/2019\/02\/13\/terrorist_content_regulation\/\">there is nothing to suggest that it will help reduce the terrorist threat or the problem of radicalisation in Europe. <\/a><\/p>\n<p>From our perspective, the deadline should be replaced by a principle-based approach, which ensures the notice &amp; action process is scaled according to different companies\u2019 exposure to terrorist content and their resources. For that reason, we welcome amendments that have been suggested in some European Parliament committees that call for terrorist content to be removed \u2018expeditiously\u2019 or \u2018without undue delay\u2019 upon notification. This approach would ensure that online intermediaries make the removal of terrorist content from their services a key operational objective, but in a way which is reflective of their exposure, the technical architecture, their resources, and the risk such content is likely to pose.<\/p>\n<p>As we\u2019ve argued consistently, one of the EU Terrorist Content regulation\u2019s biggest flaws is its lack of any proportionality criterion. Replacing the hard 60-minute takedown deadline with a principle-based approach would go a long way towards addressing that. While this won\u2019t fix everything &#8211; there are still major concerns with regard to <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/netpolicy\/2018\/11\/21\/the-eu-terrorist-content-regulation-a-threat-to-the-ecosystem-and-our-users-rights\/\">upload filtering, the unconstrained role of government agencies<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/netpolicy\/2019\/02\/13\/terrorist_content_regulation\/\">the definition of terrorist content<\/a> &#8211; it would be an important step in the right direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019ve written a lot recently about the dangers that the EU Terrorist Content regulation poses to internet health and user rights, and efforts to combat violent extremism. One aspect that\u2019s &hellip; <a class=\"go\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/netpolicy\/2019\/03\/07\/one-hour-takedown-deadlines-the-wrong-answer-to-europes-content-regulation-question\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1559,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[585,15890,141519,283230],"tags":[],"coauthors":[318937],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>One hour takedown deadlines: The wrong answer to Europe\u2019s content regulation question - Open Policy &amp; Advocacy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here we deep-dive on one of the major problems with the EU Terrorist Content regulation, and provide a recommendation for how lawmakers can address it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/netpolicy\/2019\/03\/07\/one-hour-takedown-deadlines-the-wrong-answer-to-europes-content-regulation-question\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Owen Bennett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/netpolicy\/2019\/03\/07\/one-hour-takedown-deadlines-the-wrong-answer-to-europes-content-regulation-question\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/netpolicy\/2019\/03\/07\/one-hour-takedown-deadlines-the-wrong-answer-to-europes-content-regulation-question\/\",\"name\":\"One hour takedown deadlines: The wrong answer to Europe\u2019s content regulation question - Open Policy &amp; 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