The European Commission recently issued a Recommendation to EU Member States and Online Platforms on “illegal content online.” The Recommendation takes a largely horizontal approach covering a wide range of illegal content ranging from fake news, IP infringements, and hate speech to unsafe products. Many stakeholders have also called for a revision of the intermediary liability protections of the EU E-Commerce Directive (ECD) – the legal cornerstone of the platform-based internet providing a sensible and balanced legislative framework for online intermediaries in Europe.
These fundamentals should not be changed and initiatives targeting different types of illegal content should be respected. The Commission should conduct sectorial research, aiming to identify and quantify potential problems, map solutions, and facilitate multi-stakeholder projects to roll out solutions. The Memorandum of Understanding on the online sale of counterfeit goods is a good example of a targeted approach.