Intermediaries and human rights – between co-opted law enforcement and human rights protection – PL 03b 2016

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Session teaser

Internet intermediaries are positioned between states and users: their position between co-opted law enforcement and human rights protection and the rules under which they act, from terms of service to national and European law, will be openly and critically debated.

Session description

Internet intermediaries enable communication online. They are thus essential to the exercise of human rights online and both essential to all Internet users and vulnerable to interventions by states. Intermediaries have become managers and adjudicators of freedom of expression and other rights. This is a task they neither wanted nor may be best suited to fill. The intermediaries’ terms of service seem like the actual Internet constitutions, while not providing many rights to users. From the Scarlet/Sabam, Telekabel, Digital Rights Ireland, Costeja and Schrems cases before the EU's highest Court to the Delfi and MTE cases before the European Court of Human Rights, European courts have approached the human rights obligations of intermediaries differently. Is it time for a revisit? How can we attribute responsibilities in the triangular relationship of states, intermediaries and users? Should we rely on self-regulation? What laws are applicable to users – can courts in one country change the rules for the activities of intermediaries in other countries? And what procedural guarantees exist for users’ rights in the ‘adjudication’ of conflicts?

Keywords

intermediaries, platforms, responsibility, liability, users, e-commerce directive, human rights protection, law enforcement

Format

Until 30 April 2016. Please try new interactive formats out. EuroDIG is about dialogue not about statements.

Further reading

• EDRi Booklet: Human Rights and Privatised Law Enforcement

• Council of Europe, Human Rights Violations Online, drafted by European Digital Rights, DGI (2014) 31, (04.12.2014)

• EDRi submission to UN Special Rapporteur David Kaye's call on freedom of expression and the private sector in the digital age (29.01.2016)

• EU Internet Forum against terrorist content and hate speech online: Document pool (10.03.2016)

• EDRi: Input on human rights and preventing and countering violent extremism (18.03.2016)

• UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework (2011)

• ICT Sector Guide on Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

• Draft Treaty on Transnational Corporations (14.07.2014)

• Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)3 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on Human Rights and business (02.03.2016)

• Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)1 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on protecting and promoting the right to freedom of expression and the right to private life with regard to network neutrality (13.01.2016)

• Recommendation CM/Rec(2014)6 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on a Guide to human rights for Internet users (16.04.2014)

• Recommendation CM/Rec(2014)6 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on a guide to human rights for Internet users – Explanatory Memorandum (16.04.2014)

• Recommendation CM/Rec(2012)3 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the protection of human rights with regard to search engines (04.04.2012)

• Recommendation CM/Rec(2012)4 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the protection of human rights with regard to social networking services (04.04.2012)

• Recommendation CM/Rec(2011)7 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on a new notion of media (21.09.2011)

• Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)6 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on measures to promote the respect for freedom of expression and information with regard to Internet filters (26.03.2008)

• Ranking Digital Rights

• Dynamic Coalition on Platform Responsibility’s Recommendations on Terms of Service and Human Rights

• UNESCO Report “Fostering Freedom Online: The Role of Internet Intermediaries” (2014)

• https://www.oecd.org/internet/ieconomy/44949023.pdf OECD The economic and social role of Internet intermediaries (2010)

• http://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=09000016805a39d5 Council of Europe/EuroISPA, Human rights guidelines for Internet service providers (2008)

• Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights "The right to privacy in the digital age" (30.06.2014)

• Ways to tackle online hateful content proposed by the German Task Force against illegal online hate speech (15.12.2015)

• FRA/Council of Europe Handbook on European data protection law (2014)

• The right to privacy in the digital age, Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

• Article 19's Report “Internet intermediaries: Dilemma of Liability” (2013)

• "Manila Principles on Intermediary Liability" (different civil society organisations, 2015)

• Cyberhate: an issue of continued concern for the Council of Europe’s Anti-Racism Commission (2015)

• Governance of Online Intermediaries: Observations from a Series of National Case Studies, Berkman Center Research Publication No. 2015-5 (18.02.2015)

• Offensive Online Comments - New ECtHR Judgment – commentary by Dirk Voorhoof and Eva Lievens (15.02.2016)

• Criminal justice access to data in the cloud: challenges, (Council of Europe, 26.05.2016)

• Welcome to the Jungle: the Liability of Internet Intermediaries for Privacy Violations in Europe (IVIR, 2015)

Relevant judgements

• Judgement of the CJEU, Scarlet Extended SA v Société belge des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs SCRL (SABAM), (case C‑70/10)

• Judgement of the CJEU, Digital Rights Ireland Ltd v Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and Others (case C-293/12) and Kärntner Landesregierung and Others(C-594/12)

• Judgement of the CJEU, UPC Telekabel Wien GmbH v Constantin Film Verleih GmbH, Wega Filmproduktionsgesellschaft mbH (case C-314/12)

• Judgement of the CJEU, Google Spain SL,Google Inc. v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD), Mario Costeja González (case C‑131/12)

• Judgement of the CJEU, Maximillian Schrems v Data Protection Commissioner (case C-362/14)

• Judgement of the ECtHR Delfi AS v. Estonia (case no. 64569/09)

• Judgement of the ECtHR Magyar Tartalomszolgáltatók Egyesülete and Index.hu ZRT v. Hungary (case no. 22947/13)

• Judgement of the ECtHR Yildirim v. Turkey (case no. 3111/10)

• Judgement of the ECtHR Cengiz and Others v. Turkey (cases no. 48226/10 and 14027/11)

• Judgement of the ECtHR K.U. v. Finland (case no. 2872/02)

People

• Focal Point: Dr. Matthias C. Kettemann, Cluster of Excellence "Normative Orders", University of Frankfurt/Main, Germany
• Key participants

• Pavel Antonov, BlueLink Civic Action Network
• NGOs, Sofia, Bulgaria, pavelan@bluelink.net
• Stefan Herwig, Germany, private sector, stefan@dependent.de
• Martin Husovec (Tilburg, academia)
• Jef Ausloos (Brussels, academia)
• Cristina Angelopulos (Amsterdam, academia)

Panelists:

1. Frank La Rue (Mr.), Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO, Guatemala/France [international organizations] (see note 1)
2. Maud Sacquet (Ms.), Public Policy Manager, Computer and Communications Industry Association, Belgium, msacquet@ccianet.org [private sector] [or industry rep] (see note 2)
3. Michael Rotert, Chairman of the Board, eco – Association of the Internet Industry, Germany, michael.rotert@eco.de [government] (see note 3)
4. Karmen Turk, Triniti, University of Tartu, Estonia,karmen.turk@triniti.ee [academia] (see note 4)
5. Nicolo Zingales, Dynamic Coalition on Platform Responsibility,Tilburg University, Netherlands, n.zingales@uvt.nl [academia] (see note 5)
6. Allon Bar, Ranking Digital Rights & Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, Germany, a.bar@rankingdigitalrights.org [NGOs] (see note 6)
7. Maryant Fernández, European Digital Rights (EDRi), Belgium, maryant.fernandez-perez@edri.org [NGOs] (see note 7)

• Moderator: Dr. Matthias C. Kettemann, Frankfurt Research Center for Internet and Society, Cluster of Excellence "The Formation of Normative Orders", University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, matthias.kettemann@normativeorders.net (see note 8)

Co-Moderator: Nicolo Zingales, Dynamic Coalition on Platform Responsibility, Tilburg University, Netherlands, n.zingales@uvt.nl [academia]

• Remote moderator: Matei-Eugen Vasile
• Org team

Organising team is a group of people shaping the session. Every interested individual can become a member of an organising team (org team).

• Reporter: Ana Gascon-Marcen, Council of Europe, France, Ana.GASCON-MARCEN@coe.int see note 7)

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Final report

Deadline 2016

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