Brussels, 15/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Child pornography sites on the internet must be removed at source throughout the EU, said the MEPs of the committee on civil liberties of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on the evening of Monday 14 February. They adopted a report on the proposed directives presented by the European Commission in March 2010 on the mandatory blocking of websites, an option voted against by the MEPs, and on sanctions against traffickers in human beings. And wherever this block is impossible as the sites are hosted outside the EU, the member states must then take measures to prevent access to these sites, in compliance with their national laws, the MEPs added. They must also reinforce cooperation with third countries which host these sites, to make it easier to remove them at source. On preventing access to these sites, the member states must also ensure that the mechanisms set in place are transparent and do not go beyond what is necessary, and the MEPs, who are concerned by the need to keep in place the liberty of the web, and users need to be able to be informed. They and content providers must also have rights to appeal under a judicial redress procedure.
On the sanctions plank, the MEPs recognised that in view of the fact that 20% of sex offenders re-offend after a first infringement, the member states should be able to prevent them from working in jobs which bring them into contact with children, either temporarily or permanently. When recruiting staff, employees would be entitled to information on sexual offences. The MEPs also wanted to tighten the proposed rules to help, support and protect victims, in order to ensure that they have easy access to redress and do not suffer as a result of participating in criminal investigations and trials, a press release issued by the committee states.
“We must tighten up proceedings, criminalise new forms of sexual abuse against children, such as the practice of 'grooming' (becoming “friends” on social networking sites for sexual purposes) and, above all, protect the victims before, during and after criminal proceedings”, said Roberta Angelilli (EPP, Italy), the rapporteur on the subject. According to studies by the Commission, nearly 200 child pornography images are uploaded to the internet every day. The EP must now negotiate with the Council for the possible adoption of the text in June, as the Hungarian Presidency of the Council is keen to do. (S.P./transl.fl)