EDiMA, the lobbying group of leading tech companies in Europe, published a paper calling for a new Online Responsibility Framework.
Background: The newly appointed European Commission, whose mandate started in December 2019, looks set to introduce new rules for online platforms. These are likely to include liability requirements, particularly with regard to hate speech, harmful content, and political advertising, among other issues. The Commission is expected to propose a Digital Services Act (DSA) with these provisions later in 2020.
Tech giants voice their concerns: EDiMA, the lobbying group representing big tech companies in Europe (such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and Twitter, among others), voiced its concerns for the risk that online platforms could face liability for the illegal content they host. In a paper published on its website, the organisation invites policymakers to distinguish between responsibility and liability. The law should continue to assign primary liability to those users that act illegally, and should limit the liability of online providers whose services are abused by others. The paper calls for a new “Online Responsibility Framework” in which service providers would define the kind of measures that best suit their specific situation. Policymakers should refrain from imposing general monitoring obligations, and create a framework whereby online providers are encouraged to take additional action against illegal content on their own platforms.
Industry calls for a co-regulatory approach: EDiMA’s paper also touches on the functioning of an oversight body that could be created through the DSA. EDiMA recognises that a new approach might require some form of oversight, though it should be an EU-level body whose role should be limited to broad measures service providers are taking, without assessing the legality of individual pieces of content. It would have to be a co-regulatory body, with a clear consultative role for industry and civil society.
2020 looks set to be a busy year for tech lobbyists: EDiMA’s statement suggests that lobbying efforts are likely to intensify even more once the details of the DSA proposal become public. Platform liability is also likely to be high on the agenda of policymakers outside the EU, with the UK set to legislate around online safety, and reforms to intermediary liability rules being discussed in India.
