EU fills legal gap on child-abuse material
EU government have reinstated a temporary regulation that allows online service providers to resume voluntary detection and removal of child sexual-abuse material on their platforms.
The previous interim regulation, which involves a derogation from data-protection rules in the electronic-communications sector, had expired on 3 April, leaving a legal gap.
The EU Council has decided to reinstate the derogation until 3 April 2028. A long-term legislative framework is currently under negotiation between the council and European Parliament.
The council has accepted a European Parliament amendment that will allow providers of certain number-independent interpersonal communication services to continue the voluntary detection and reporting of child sexual abuse on their services and the removal of child sexual-abuse material from them.
‘Right thing to do’
The European Commission has welcomed the decision as “a positive development that restores legal certainty” but warned that it could provide only a bridge solution until agreement was reached on long-term legislation.
“We call on the co-legislators to continue intense work and make swift progress on the long-term framework.,” said commissioner Henna Virkkunen.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said that the decision by EU justice ministers was “the right thing to do”.
“I am confident that the same sense of responsibility will guide us in negotiating long-term rules for the detection of child sexual abuse online,” he added.