Germany has suggested splitting off the more controversial parts of the draft regulation aiming to prevent and combat child sexual abuse material online, according to the country’s position paper dated Thursday (12 October) and seen by Euractiv.
The proposed regulation aims to prevent and combat online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), making it a requirement for digital platforms in the EU to detect and report such material. However, some elements of the proposal – in particular, detection orders which some argue break encryption and violate users’ privacy – have proved controversial and difficult to move past.
The German position paper reads that based on the latest compromise text, necessary requirements from the Council Legal Service’s perspective are not yet implemented.
Based on the European Commission’s non-paper of 16 May, “an in-depth legal discussion of the design of the detection order” would still be necessary “to establish conformity with the EU charter of fundamental rights”.
However, advocates argue that provisions in the compromise text should be adopted as soon as possible so that improvements can be made in the fight against child sexual abuse.
Splitting up the draft law
Germany has suggested splitting the file into two parts, namely “generally acceptable provisions”, which should remain in the compromise text, and “controversial provisions”, which should be removed. The removed parts should be included in a new draft regulation.
Controversial provisions could be “discussed without time pressure”, to come up with solutions that protect children and also respect data privacy.
The paper adds that the interim regulation, currently said to be in force until 3 August 2024, should be extended, so that there is time to discuss the controversial parts. Meanwhile, providers could continue with the voluntary detection of CSAM, which the interim regulation allows. This would also help in avoiding regulatory gaps, Berlin believes.
Which is which?
Provisions which are seen as generally acceptable and therefore should remain in the text, according to Germany, are risk assessment and risk mitigation measures, which will apply to providers of hosting services and interpersonal communications services to determine the risks of CSAM appearing on the services they offer.
Orders about the reporting of CSAM, as well as the removal, blocking, and delisting of such material are also part of the generally acceptable provisions.
Additional provisions, which include, for example, victims’ rights, are also among the generally acceptable parts of the draft law, according to the Germans.
Detection of CSAM, however, should be left out as that appears to be controversial and should be “addressed in a new draft regulation”.
Detection of child sexual abuse material has indeed been the most controversial part of the file, ever since its introduction.
Digital associations voiced concerns that scanning such material would result in the breaking of encryption and privacy violations, while child protection organisations maintain that this is a crucial step in preventing abuse. Germany has been perhaps the most critical of the proposal, for these reasons.
A recent article by the Balkan Insight revealed close links, including possible financial interests, between the European Commission and child protection organisations in connection to a draft EU law to prevent online child sexual abuse material,
A partial general approach by the Spanish Presidency, dated 10 October and seen by Euractiv, also suggested limiting the scope of the detection orders to known CSAM, for now.
Known CSAM refers to materials already spread on the internet, while unknown refers to those that have not been detected yet. Known materials are easier to detect, for example through technologies that ‘hash-match’ – in other words, scan for already-seen content. Unknown material, as well as grooming, however, is considerably more challenging to detect.
Germany believes that the remaining parts of the file would “constitute a significant added value to the current legal status quo”, and that by agreeing on “these legal bases created for the first time at EU level”, the fight against child sexual abuse would advance, including strengthening authorities to act and disseminate this type of material.
In Germany’s view, it would also help with international cooperation.
Source : Euractiv
