The Regulation on tackling terrorist content online is a done deal! We want to push for open source AI in the public sector. Also, it is finally time to go after the sui generis database right. More below!
Anna & Dimi
This and previous reports on Meta-Wiki: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/EU_policy/Monitor
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Digital Services Act
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Council: Last week the Competitiveness Council configuration of the Council of the European Union (so basically the Member States governments’ attachés) met and discussed the Protuguese Presidency’s latest progress report on the DSA. [1] Nothing groundbreaking has happened since the Presidency’s last suggestions (see last month’s report), but a some countries clearly positioned themselves with demands. France wants to rely less on other countries’ regulators to police and punish online platforms based elsewhere in the bloc. Which makes Luxembourg and Ireland, where most platforms are based, unhappy. The Swedish government voiced concerns about free speech implications. To cite the Swedish representative the government wants to reduce "the risk of over-removal, and thereby be less suppressive on freedom of speech.”
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Parliament - Lead Committee: The rapporteur of the lead committee, Christel Schaldemose (S&D DK) of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee, was supposed to send her suggestions for amendments to the translating services on Friday. The other MEPs will have until 1. July to get acquainted with her drafts and suggest their own amendments. We are waiting for the draft report to be published by the translation services. [2]
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Parliament - Opinions: Meanwhile the rapporteur for the opinion of the Legal Affairs Committee, Geoffroy Didier (EPP FR) [3] presented his main priorities for the Digital Services Act during a hearing in the legal affairs committee (JURI). The French EPP delegation is arguing for notice- and stay-down mechanisms to prevent removed content from reappearing. This would require upload filters. They also want to include harmful content in the scope, even when it is not illegal. These positions were quickly rebutted by the other three mainstream parliamentary groups: S&D, Renew Europe and Greens/EFA.
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Artificial Intelligence Regulation
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As we have written last month, the European Commission has presented the world’s first Regulation on AI. [4] It contains some bans, transparency obligations and obligations on “high-risk uses”. We are now analysing it and discussing what Wikimedia can and should address. You may join us: [5]
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Data Act
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The European Commission has been proposing a lot recently! We already have a Data Governance Act, but now there will also be a Data Act. The Impact Assessment has been published and the European Commission and we can now provide feedback until 25 June. [6] The Data Act is supposed to boost the access to and re-use of privately held data (business to business and public sector). It might also tackle issues with the so-called Database Directive. Part of our response will be a criticism of the sui generis database right. [7] If you have any other ideas that we should plug, please get in touch!
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TERREG
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The Regulation on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online in its final shape was published in the Official Journal of the EU on May 17 [8], ending a two and a half year-long legislative process. It enters into force on June 7th 2021 and will apply from June 7th 2022. It means that in a week’s time the Member States will have legal basis to start setting up their systems and procedures, such as appointing competent authorities; and companies -- their systems to respond. But both the authorities and the platforms will be bound to comply with the law only in June 2022, so even if everything is ready earlier than that, the authorities cannot act upon it until June next year.
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DMA
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An event organised by BEREC (Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications) shed some light on how the Digital Market Act can (and cannot) help end users. [9] The European Commission representative maintained that the regulation is designed to do so, but not all participants were convinced that the Ec proposal is enough. [10] EP Rapporteur Andreas Schwab (EPP, DDE) underlined that more work is needed, as tricky as it is to fix a global problem with “local” legislative means. He pointed out that the qualitative determinants in defining who is a gatekeeper are more important than the quantitative ones. The civil society representatives and experts pointed to interoperability of platforms and communication services as a must-have, and the need for obligations for platforms to be self-executing and not applied case-by-case.
There is hope that the legislators will have an appetite to remodel DMA to focus where it matters - by offering more practical solutions to users.
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wikimedia.brussels
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This month's blog posts:
A little less conversation, a little more action, please: The EU and the TRIPS Waiver - Justus Dreyling looks into the puzzling decision of the European Commission regarding COVID-19 vaccines patents from the perspective of access to knowledge
The truth is out there: 8 steps to tackle disinformation in the EU - Naphisca Papanicolau presents our views on how to make internet a better place
TERREG adopted without a final vote – what to expect and what it means - Anna rounds out the aftermath of the April’s debacle with this important piece of legislation being passed without a Plenary vote
Antiterrorists in a bike shed – policy and politics of the Terrorist Content Regulation - for the patient and fascinated with the ways the EU works, we have a longer analysis of the political aspects of TERREG prepared together with Diego Naranjo of EDRi
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[01]https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-8570-2021-INIT/en/pdf
[02]https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?reference=2020/0361(COD)&l=en
[03]https://twitter.com/geoffroydidier
[05]https://docs.google.com/document/d/16c23xrA5_bkvugzN56_85QwKZa2mhFCyXVCW00L4eOg/edit?usp=sharing
[07]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_right
[08]https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021R0784&from=FR