On 12 September, the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU will convene a new meeting of the working group on the regulation on the removal of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from the Internet, following an initial meeting on 11 July, at which no major changes in the positions of Member States were detected.
To this end, on 24 July the Presidency submitted a new compromise text that does not change the logic of the first Danish text, but merely makes a few technical adjustments.
It specifies that providers of hosting services and interpersonal communications services must clearly describe in their terms and conditions the mitigation measures that they have taken, “including, if applicable, the age verification and age assessment measures”. It can also add references (“if necessary”) to certain procedures, such as blocking orders.
In its first draft on 1 July, the Danish Presidency of the EU Council proposed reintroducing mandatory detection orders regarding CSAM content for both new and existing content (see EUROPE 13672/13). The Polish Presidency, faced with the blockage of the Council of the EU, had tried to make these detection orders voluntary, but without success.
On 24 July, the Danish Minister of Justice, Peter Hummelgaard, reiterated his ambition to do everything possible to reach an agreement (see EUROPE 13686/2).
The European Parliament, for its part, has validated the mandate in 2023 (see EUROPE 13292/10), but some observers have indicated in recent days that certain members of the European Parliament might be tempted to support the Danish minister’s approach, which is to reach a rapid agreement.
While the European Parliament’s mandate only provides for mandatory detection orders as a last resort to avoid generalised surveillance, with the need to target detection orders at individuals or groups already linked to child sexual abuse, based on reasonable grounds for suspicion, these players are therefore starting to worry about a potential reopening of the European Parliament’s position. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)