Google, Meta and other online service providers will be required to find and remove online child pornography under proposed European Commission rules, a move some privacy groups say could put people's communications at risk.
Companies that fail to comply with the rules face fines up to 6% of their annual income or global turnover, which will be set by EU countries. The EU executive said its proposal announced on Wednesday aimed to replace the current system of voluntary detection and reporting by companies which has proven to be insufficient to protect children.
It cited the more than one million reports of child sexual abuse in the 27-country bloc in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic a factor in the 64% rise in such reports in 2021 compared to the previous year. On top of that, 60% of child sexual abuse material worldwide is hosted on EU servers.
"The proposed rules introduce an obligation for relevant online service providers to assess the risk of their services' misuse for the dissemination of child sexual abuse materials or for the solicitation of children (grooming)," the Commission said in a statement.
The companies will then have to report and remove known and new images and videos, as well as cases of grooming. An EU Centre on Child Sexual Abuse will be set up to act as a hub of expertise and to forward reports to the police. The rules will apply to hosting services and interpersonal communication services such as messaging services, app stores and internet access providers.
The Commission's proposal could endanger end-to-end encryption and open the door to authoritarian surveillance tactics, lobbying group European Digital Rights said.
Meta subsidiary WhatsApp echoed the same concerns. "Incredibly disappointing to see a proposed EU regulation on the internet fail to protect end-to-end encryption," Will Cathcart, WhatsApp head, said in a tweet.
"It’s important that any measures adopted do not undermine end-to-end encryption which protects the safety and privacy of billions of people, including children," a Meta spokesperson said.
The draft EU rules need to be thrashed out with EU countries and EU lawmakers before they can become law.
(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout. Editing by John Stonestreet and Mark Potter)
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU