Before the Christmas break, the European Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourova, on Monday 18 December outlined the European Commission's forthcoming initiatives in the field of justice. Online hate speech, electronic evidence and data protection are all subjects that make it onto the institution's busy agenda in the New Year.
Online hate speech. In the third week of January, the Commission is expected to publish the results of the third evaluation of the code of conduct on online hate speech (see EUROPE 11562).
Readers may recall that by subscribing to this code, the four American new-technology giants, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft, undertook to create internal procedures allowing them to deal with the majority of notifications deemed valid in less than 24 hours and, if necessary, to withdraw the content in question or block access to it.
On the basis of these results, the Commission may assess which players have kept their commitments. According to the Commission's most recent reports, incidents of taking down illegal hate speech have increased to 59%.
The aim is not a 100% rate, the Commissioner explained, adding that the freedom of expression in the EU must continue to be guaranteed. However, if the results reveal that not all content has been taken down in a timely fashion, that there is not enough transparency or that insufficient investment capacity has been set in place, this will reflect a degree of negligence in the commitments made, she said.
Then, the Commission has given itself until spring to decide whether to continue on a voluntary basis or to regulate in a binding manner. This will involve a discussion with the European justice ministers, some of whom have already expressed a certain amount of sympathy for legislation on the model of the new German law. This provides for a financial penalty of as much as €50 million against social networks that fail to take down content deemed hate speech within 24 hours.
The Commissioner made no bones about her preference for binding legislation, but acknowledged the advantages of the voluntary approach, such as the immediate nature of actions and the involvement of many players. She stressed that no legislative proposal is currently being drafted and added that if any initiative were to be launched, it would not be soft law or recommendations, but proper legislation containing obligations and sanctions.
Electronic evidence. The work on electronic evidence is gathering pace and the Commission is expected to present a legislative proposal on the subject on 24 January. This proposal - which is still being drafted - is expected to impose a requirement on electronic service providers to supply electronic evidence requested by the judicial authorities in the event of any suspicion of a crime.
This approach would replace the current voluntary approach, whilst including the necessary safeguards, particularly on the protection of privacy, but also the right to a fair trial, she explained.
Data protection. On around 28 January, the Commission is also expected to launch a website, available in all EU languages, to help SMEs to prepare for the entry into force of the general data protection regulation (GDPR), on 25 May 2018 (see EUROPE 11916).
Jourova said that many SMEs had complained about the administrative burden and costs brought about by compliance with this regulation. The Commission will also launch a campaign targeting citizens to increase their awareness of the importance of the new European legislation.
Lastly, according to our information, the legislative package on company law, initially scheduled for the end of November, but which has been delayed (see EUROPE 11915), is anticipated for 16 January. It is expected to contain proposals to facilitate cross-border trade, support the digitisation of businesses and include a proposed directive on transferring registered offices. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)