The law adopted by the Senate, which in reality adapts to European Union law, provides in particular for the withdrawal of terrorist content disseminated online within one hour of an injunction.
After the National Assembly last February, the Senate in turn adopted, on Tuesday, the bill to adapt into French law the provisions of the European regulation of April 29, 2021, relating to the fight against the dissemination of content. terrorism online, in force across the EU since last month. The sages of the Luxembourg Palace have come to define its outlines.
Hosting service providers will have 24 hours to remove terrorist content online
This European regulation applies to all hosting service providers operating within the European Union, regardless of where they are based. The major interest is to make mandatory the withdrawal of terrorist content disseminated online within the hour following an injunction issued.
This injunction must be issued according to an established model, by a competent authority that each State is free to designate. In France, the law empowers the Central Office for the Fight against Crime Related to Information and Communication Technologies (OCLCTIC) to issue injunctions for the removal of content.
ARCOM, which is already competent to supervise the means implemented by online platforms with the aim of protecting citizens against online hatred and disinformation, is here referred to as the qualified (legal) personality. In other words, ARCOM will be competent to carry out an in-depth examination of cross-border removal orders.
High penalties, but the thorny question of the cross-border procedure
The Senate Law Commission modified the text a few days ago in order to strengthen ARCOM’s role as a qualified personality. The authority could thus supervise all the withdrawal orders issued by the OCLCTIC. Appeals procedures for hosting or content service providers have also been improved. The latter would 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 would then have 72 hours to respond. And in the event that ARCOM decides on a cross-border injunction, the hosts could implement the same appeal procedure.
A word on the “cross-border” procedure
As long as a hosting service provider (such as Amazon, Google or Microsoft, to name a few) operates in Europe, it may be subject to cross-border injunctions, regardless of the country where it is established.
If one of them were to be the subject of an injunction, this would be transmitted to the competent authority of the country where he has his main establishment, in order to proceed within a limited period to an in-depth examination of the ‘injunction. But the competent local authority still retains some flexibility, and can bring the content back online if it believes that the request from the EU does not comply with the regulations.
As a reminder, in the event of non-removal of content subject to an injunction within 24 hours, OCLCTIC would have the possibility of having the ISPs block the email addresses which allow access to illicit content. , then notify them to search engines, with a view to their delisting.
The hosting service provider who fails to comply with the obligation to remove terrorist content within the hour could be exposed to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 250,000 euros, a criminal sanction therefore, which if pronounced against a legal person, may be increased to 4% of annual worldwide turnover for its financial component. A supplier who does not inform the authorities of such content would expose himself to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 250,000 euros. The law must still be discussed between the two assemblies, before its final adoption.
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