The Senate has just passed a law that obliges publishers and hosts to remove terrorist content online within one hour of an injunction. An adaptation of the European legislature which must not harm freedom of expression.
On Tuesday July 12, 2022, the Senate voted on an LREM bill aimed in particular at compelling publishers and hosts – including those located in another Member State – to remove terrorist content disseminated online within one hour of an injunction. . It partly takes up the Avia law, which had been rejected by the Constitutional Council in July 2020, while relieving it of articles that jeopardized freedom of expression. This bill aims above all to adapt French law to the new European regulation of April 29, 2021 against the dissemination of terrorist content online. This text has been in force since June 7 throughout the European Union.
A cross-border withdrawal order
The European regulation applies to all hosting or content service providers – such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft – who offer services within the European Union, regardless of the countries where they are established. , insofar as they disseminate information to the European public. Thanks to this law, they can now be the subject of a cross-border injunction aimed at removing terrorist content broadcast online within an hour. Of course, this injunction must be carried out according to an established process and by an authority that each State must designate. In France, it is the Central Office for Combating Crime Related to Information and Communication Technologies (OCLCTIC). Are considered terrorist images, audio or video content that incites the commission of terrorist acts, gives practical instructions on how to commit acts of terrorism, and solicits participation in terrorist groups. The goal is to prevent terrorists from spreading their propaganda, learning how to make explosives, broadcasting their acts live and inciting lonely people to commit such acts.
If there is an injunction, it must be sent to the competent authority of the country in which the main establishment of the supplier is located. This authority then carries out, within a limited time, an in-depth examination of the injunction. If the content is not removed, OCLCTIC can block, through Internet service providers, the email addresses that allow access to illegal content, then notify them to search engines so that they do not are no longer listed. As for the provider of hosting services, it is exposed to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 250,000 euros that can go up to 4% of the turnover of the digital platform in question. If this provider does not inform the authorities of the presence of terrorist content on their platform, he faces three years in prison and a fine of 250,000 euros.
Strengthen powers and procedures
The bill also instructs the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (Arcom) to deal with requests for the removal of content originating from another Member State of the European Union, by carrying out a thorough examination. In addition, it improves recourse procedures for providers of hosting or content services. They now have the possibility of seizing, within 48 hours, the president of the administrative court to request the cancellation of an injunction of withdrawal. The administrative judge then has 72 hours to respond.
This new bill was thus adopted by the majority of the Senate, although the CRCE group (with a communist majority) voted against and the group of ecologists abstained. Both expressed concern about possible attacks on freedom of expression. From now on, the law must be discussed between the National Assembly and the Senate before its final adoption. In case of disagreement, the National Assembly will have the last word.