from the sounds-like-it dept

I’ve been so focused of late on issues related to Section 230 in the US, that I’ve had barely any time to devote to the Digital Services Act in the EU, which is the EU’s ongoing efforts to rewrite intermediary law in the EU. The reports I have followed have been a mix of concerns, with the admission that it at least appeared that EU politicians were trying to get a good grasp on the issues and trade-offs and not rush in with a totally horrible plan. That doesn’t mean the end result is good, but so far it does not appear to be totally disconnected from reality, as with many similar proposals we’ve seen around the globe.

Joan Barata has a good report looking at the the current state of intermediary liability in the latest DSA proposal and notes that it’s… kind of a mess. Basically, as is often the case with intermediary liability laws, very few policymakers have experience with the actual issues, and thus they can’t take into account how various provisions will actually work in practice. Frequently that means that proposals are worded vaguely, and no one will really know what they mean until after a series of lengthy, confusing, and expensive court decisions.

As Barata notes, the DSA appears to retain the basic liability protections that have existed for the last two decades in the EU in the form of the E-commerce Directive (which is weaker than Section 230’s protections in the US, but are roughly equivalent in saying that websites should not be held liable for 3rd party content). The big difference with the E-commerce Directive is that websites do need to remove content “upon obtaining actual knowledge or awareness” of “illegal activities.” Of course, what exactly is meant by “obtaining actual knowledge or awareness” becomes a tricky question at times and did involve some lawsuits.

The DSA, though, moves the liability situation further away from Section 230 and more to a DMCA style “safe harbor” situation, by establishing that knowledge can be obtained through “notices”:

Apart from the provisions included in Article 5, Article 14(3) establishes that notice and action mechanisms fulfilling certain criteria give rise to actual knowledge or awareness.

The DSA tries to avoid the classic “moderator’s dilemma” issue by saying that even though knowledge or awareness could make you liable, you don’t necessarily lose your liability protections if you carry out your own investigations:

Article 6 clarifies that intermediaries may not lose their liability protections “solely because they carry out voluntary own initiative investigations or other activities aimed at detecting, identifying and removing, or disabling of access to, illegal content, or take the necessary measures to comply with the requirements of Union law, including those set out in this Regulation”.

But what does that mean in practice? You can lose the protections if you know about illegal stuff on your website, but you don’t lose them if you are doing your own investigation. But at what point does finding stuff during your own investigation magically morph into knowledge or awareness? Well, the answer seems… contradictory. Basically, it sounds like the current draft of the DSA hangs an awful lot of weight on the word “solely.” If illegal content is discovered “solely” via an investigation, then a site might retain its protections — but if that same content is discovered in any other way, then the site may have knowledge and face liability. This… is going to be confusing.

And, again, this tends to be the problem with all of these proposals. They want to encourage sites to moderate to clean up bad stuff, but if they mandate liability for having knowledge of bad stuff, you incentivize less searching. But now you are still left in a weird, twisted position, where you say “okay, you can search, but if you find stuff, you’re no longer liable for it… unless you also have separate knowledge of it.” And how do you manage that?

This is actually one of the many reasons why — despite all the criticism it receives — Section 230 gets the balance right. It gives websites a free hand in moderating content, but does so in a way that many, many other forces come into play in pressuring the company to be a good actor in the space. Public pressure, user concerns, media coverage, and advertiser pressure, all serve to push websites to improve their moderation practices. Too many people, however, think that without a law mandating such things, nothing happens. That’s wrong. We’re seeing every website continually work to create better policies not because of the risk of some confusing and potentially very costly law, but because they don’t want their site to be a dumpster fire of awful.

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Filed Under: confusion, digital services act, dsa, e-commerce directive, eu, intermediary liability, knowledge, monitoring, notices, section 230

Rabat – EU parliamentarian Tomas Zdechovsky has listed the positive development in the Western Sahara conflict, recalling the US recent decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the region.

In a recent written question to the EU, the member of the European Parliament said the situation in Arica “has changed significantly in recent months.”

Zdechovsky recalled the diplomatic rapprochement between Morocco and Israel, as well as the US’ recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara; he also cited EU countries that support Morocco’s position.

He said some EU member states, including Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland have expressed support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.

<p>“Is the EEAS [European External Action Services] considering moving in a similar direction?” the MP asked.

Several countries from all continents have publicly embraced Morocco’s position, describing its Autonomy Plan as a credible and serious solution to end the Sahara conflict.

On December 10, former US president Donald Trump made a historic decision by recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over the region.

Reflecting the growing, unwavering international support for Morocco’sstance is that about 20 countries have in recent months opened their consulates in the country’s southern provinces. 

The latest country to join the pro-Morocco momentum was Jordan, which opened its consulate in the region of Laayoune on Thursday.

Jordan also reiterated support for Morocco’s autonomy initiative, saying it the most realistic route to a lasting solution in Western Sahara.

Morocco submitted its Autonomy Plan to the UN Security Council in 2007. The Moroccan initiative suggests making Western Sahara a semi-autonomous region that remains under Morocco’s sovereignty.

The plan will allow the region’s inhabitants to manage their social, economic, and political affairs while Morocco handles defense and diplomacy. 

The Western Sahara region is witnessing rapid socio-economic and political transformations, with more countries signing investment deals and development projects projected to make the southern provinces a regional economic hub.

With the EU steering clear of committing to a clear position on the Sahara question, Morocco has called on the European body to join the international trend and support the positive dynamics underway in Morocco’s southern provinces.

In February, Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita called on the EU to come out of its comfort zone and support the growing international consensus on the Sahara conflict. 

The official said that more countries are supporting Morocco’s autonomy initiative as the surest way out of the decades-long political impasse in Western Sahara.

“This is not an isolated position, but a trend at the level of the international community.”

He recalled that  the process has gone “round and round for years,” recalling that the conflict has an impact on the situation of the Sahel region — where terror organizations are active in the region.

“Today, the train will leave. Is Europe going to remain passive or contribute to this dynamic? Bourita asked.

Several EU officials have since called on the European body to support Morocco’s position.

Louis Michel, Belgium’s former Foreign Minister and Jacques Brotchi, the  Honorary president of the Belgian Senate, released a joint statement in February to support Morocco’s autonomy proposal as the most viable way to end the Sahara dispute.

“Now we can see that the world is moving slowly but surely towards the recognition of the sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara, a positive move for geographic, political and geo-strategic reasons,” the joint statement reads.

  <div class="paywall" readability="13.634033613445">  <p>Asked about an article in which his Brexit adviser David Frost says the <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/world/eu-seeks-access-to-us-produced-astrazeneca-vaccines-report-11615026539151.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EU</a> should "shake off any remaining ill will towards us for leaving".</p>       <p>"I think this is one of those issues we were always bound to have in the early stages of our new relationship with our friends in the EU and the various technical issues that we are going to iron out," he told reporters.</p>       <p>"I am full of optimism about the future and the partnership that we are building." </p>     <input type="hidden" id="iframecount" value="0"/>  <p><em>This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.</em></p>   <div class="newslettersub_outsidesso_11615120854713" readability="6">  <div class="outsideSso clearfix" id="outsideSso_11615120854713" readability="8"> <p>Subscribe to <strong>Mint Newsletters</strong></p> <div class="inputSecArea clearfix" id="inputSec_11615120854713" readability="7">  <p><span>*</span> Enter a valid email</p> <p><span>*</span> Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.</p>  </div> </div> </div>      </div>

The European Union should shake off any lingering ill will over Brexit and build a friendly relationship with the UK as sovereign equals, Britain’s top EU adviser David Frost says.

Frost again defended Britain’s unilateral move to smooth post-Brexit trade between Britain and Northern Ireland, over which the EU has promised to launch legal action for breaching the terms of the Brexit deal.

Since Britain left the EU last year, relations between the two have soured, with both sides accusing the other of acting in bad faith in relation to part of their trade agreement that covers goods movements to Northern Ireland.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has tried to keep his distance from the row, said Britain and the EU would iron out what he described as “technical issues”, saying such issues were bound to happen “in the early stages of our new relationship”.

Frost, who led Britain’s negotiations to secure a trade deal with the bloc, was appointed as a minister and Johnson’s main man for future ties with the EU earlier this year and looks set to take a firmer approach.

“I hope they will shake off any remaining ill will towards us for leaving, and instead build a friendly relationship, between sovereign equals,” he wrote in an opinion piece in the Sunday Telegraph.

“That is what I will be working towards, acting constructively when we can, standing up for our interests when we must – as a sovereign country in full control of our own destiny.”

The EU has denied suggestions by some leading Brexiteers that it wishes ill on post-Brexit Britain, saying it only expects London to honour the terms of the divorce agreement.

Frost again defended the British government’s extension of a grace period for checks on some food products imported by retailers to Northern Ireland as being “lawful and consistent with the progressive and good faith implementation” of part of the post-Brexit trade deal called the Northern Ireland protocol.

Northern Ireland’s future was bitterly contested during the Brexit negotiations.

London ultimately agreed to leave the British-ruled province aligned to the EU’s single market for goods to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, fearing it could be detrimental to the 1998 peace agreement that ended decades of Irish conflict.

This has required checks on some items arriving in Northern Ireland from elsewhere in the UK, which some businesses say has made it difficult to bring in supplies.

To address that issue, the British government extended the grace period for some checks until October 1.

The EU disputes that the grace period extension was in line with the agreement, saying London should honour what it signed up to. It has promised to launch legal action, or a so-called “infringement procedure” against Britain.

Britain’s top EU adviser David Frost on Sunday defended Britain’s unilateral move to smooth post-Brexit trade between Britain and Northern Ireland, over which the EU has promised to launch legal action for breaching the terms of the Brexit deal.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Frost said that The European Union should shake off its ill will and build a good relationship with Britain as sovereign equals,  said on Sunday, promising to stand up for the country’s interests.

Since Britain left the EU last year, relations between the two have soured, with both sides accusing the other of acting in bad faith in relation to part of their trade agreement that covers goods movements to Northern Ireland.

Frost, who led Britain’s negotiations to secure a trade deal with the bloc, was appointed as a minister and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s main point man for future ties with the EU earlier this year and looks set to take a firmer approach.

 “I hope they will shake off any remaining ill will towards us for leaving, and instead build a friendly relationship, between sovereign equals,” he wrote in an opinion piece.

“That is what I will be working towards, acting constructively when we can, standing up for our interests when we must – as a sovereign country in full control of our own destiny.”

He again defended the British government’s extension of a grace period for checks on some food products imported by retailers to Northern Ireland as being “lawful and consistent with the progressive and good faith implementation” of part of the post-Brexit trade deal called the Northern Ireland protocol.

 But he added: “Without this threat of disruption, we can continue our discussions with the EU to resolve difficulties arising from the protocol constructively – and we aim to do so.”

Northern Ireland’s future was bitterly contested during the Brexit negotiations. London ultimately agreed to leave the British-ruled province aligned to the EU’s single market for goods to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, fearing it could be detrimental to the 1998 peace agreement that ended decades of conflict in the province.

This has required checks on some items arriving in Northern Ireland from elsewhere in the United Kingdom, which some businesses say has made it difficult to bring in supplies. To address that issue, the British government extended the grace period for some checks until October 1.

The EU disputes that the grace period extension was in line with the agreement, saying London should honour what it signed up to. It has promised to launch legal action, or a so-called “infringement procedure” against Britain.

Women held 33 per cent of seats in national parliaments in the EU in 2020, according to data released on Sunday by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU.

Cyprus, at 22 per cent, ranks eighth from last.

According to the Eurostat data, while the share of seats held by women in national parliaments varies considerably between EU countries, no EU country had more women than men holding seats in parliament.

In 2020, the highest share of female members in national parliaments was recorded in Sweden, where women accounted for almost a half of parliamentarians (close to 50 per cent) followed by Finland (46 per cent), Belgium (43 per cent) and Spain (42 per cent).

At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest shares were recorded in Hungary and Malta (both 13 per cent). Romania and Czechia follow at 20 per cent and Slovenia at 21 per cent. Greece and Cyprus at 22 per cent, rank 7th and 8th from last.

Over the past few years, the share of female members of government (senior and junior ministers) in the EU increased, from 20 per cent in 2004 to 33 per cent in 2020.

In 2020, Finland had the highest share of female members in its government (55 per cent). Cyprus, at 25 per cent, ranks again 8th from last.

According to Eurostat, the number of female presidents and prime ministers in the EU also rose since 2004. Today, four out of 27 heads of government are women, whereas there were none in 2004. Over this period, there were never more than four female presidents or prime ministers at the same time.