### ' online search engine ' means a digital service that allows users to perform searches of , in principle , all websites or websites in a particular language on the basis of a query on any subject in the form of a keyword , phrase or other input , and returns links in which information related to the requested content can be found ; ### ' online search engine ' means a digital service that allows users to perform searches of , in principle , all websites or websites in a particular language on the basis of a query on any subject in the form of a keyword , phrase or other input , and returns content such as short texts , pictures , links , videos , audios , in which information related to the requested content can be found ;


### ' online search engine ' means a digital service that allows users to perform searches of , in principle , all websites or websites in a particular language on the basis of a query on any subject in the form of a keyword , phrase or other input , and returns links in which information related to the requested content can be found ; ### ' online search engine ' means a digital service , including inter alia digital interfaces and applications , including mobile applications with search functionality that allows users to perform searches on any subject in the form of a keyword , phrase or other input , and returns results in which information related to the requested content can be found ;


### ' terms and conditions ' means all terms , conditions , clauses and other information , irrespective of their name or form , which govern the contractual relationship between the provider of online intermediation services and their business users and are unilaterally determined by the provider of online intermediation services . ### ' terms and conditions ' means the terms , conditions and clauses which govern the contractual relationship between the provider of online intermediation services and their business users and are unilaterally determined by the provider of online intermediation services .


### they are provided to business users on the basis of contractual relationships between , on the one hand , the provider of those services and , on the other hand , both those business users and the consumers to which those business users offer goods or services ; ### they are provided to business users on the basis of contractual relationships between the provider of those services and business users who offer goods and services to consumers ;


### organisations or associations shall have the right referred to in paragraph 1 only where , at the time of bringing the action , they meet all of the following requirements : ### organisations or associations shall have the right referred to in paragraph 1 only where , at the time of bringing the action and for the duration of the action , they continue to meet all of the following requirements :


### providers of online intermediation services shall identify in their terms and conditions one or more mediators with which they are willing to engage to attempt to reach an agreement with business users on the settlement , out of court , of any disputes between the provider and the business user arising in relation to the provision of the online intermediation services concerned , including complaints that could not be resolved by means of the internal complaint - handling system referred to in article 9 . ### providers of online intermediation services shall identify in their terms and conditions one or more mediators with which they are willing to engage to attempt to reach an agreement with business users on the settlement , out of court , of disputes between the provider and the business user arising in relation to the provision of the online intermediation services concerned , which could not be resolved by means of the internal complaint - handling system referred to in article 9 .


### online intermediation services and online search engines , as well as the commercial transactions facilitated by those services , have an intrinsic cross - border potential and are of particular importance for the proper functioning of the union ' s internal market in today ' s economy . the potentially unfair and harmful trading practices of certain providers of those services in respect of business users and corporate website users hamper the full realisation of that potential and negatively affect the proper functioning of the internal market . in addition , the full realisation of that potential is hampered , and the proper functioning of the internal market is negatively affected , by diverging laws of certain member states which , with a varying degree of effectiveness , regulate those services , while other member states are considering adopting such laws . ### online intermediation services and online search engines , as well as the transactions facilitated by those services , have an intrinsic cross - border potential and are of particular importance for the proper functioning of the union ' s internal market in today ' s economy . the potentially unfair and harmful trading practices of certain providers of those services in respect of business users and corporate website users hamper the full realisation of that potential and negatively affect the proper functioning of the internal market . in addition , the full realisation of that potential is hampered , and the proper functioning of the internal market is negatively affected , by diverging laws of certain member states which , with a varying degree of effectiveness , regulate those services , while other member states are considering adopting such laws .


### they pursue objectives that are in the collective interest of the group of business users or corporate website users that they represent ; ### they pursue objectives that are in the collective interest of the group of a majority of business users or corporate website users that they represent , which group must consist of at least 10 independent business users or corporate website users ;


### ranking ; ### ranking and default settings ;


### they are of a non - profit making character . ### they are of a non - profit making character and are transparent about the source of funding for bringing and continuing the action and can demonstrate that they have sufficient financial resources to represent the best interests of their business or corporate website users and to meet any adverse costs should the action fail ;


### any direct or indirect remuneration charged for the use of the online intermediation services concerned ; ### any direct or indirect remuneration charged for the use of the online intermediation services or online search engine services concerned ;


### providers of online intermediation services shall bear a reasonable proportion of the total costs of mediation in each individual case . a reasonable proportion of those total costs shall be determined , on the basis of a suggestion by the mediator , by taking into account all relevant elements of the case at hand , in particular the relative merits of the claims of the parties to the dispute , the conduct of the parties , as well as the size and financial strength of the parties relative to one another . however , providers of online intermediation services shall in any case bear at least half of the total cost . ### providers of online intermediation services and business users shall bear a reasonable proportion of the total costs of mediation in each individual case . a reasonable proportion of those total costs shall be determined , on the basis of a suggestion by the mediator , by taking into account all relevant elements of the case at hand , in particular the relative merits of the claims of the parties to the dispute , the conduct of the parties , as well as the size and financial strength of the parties relative to one another . should the mediator find that the business user is acting in bad faith or is seeking to abuse the mediation process , it can decide to make the business user bear more than half of the total cost .


### providers of online intermediation services shall set out in their terms and conditions the main parameters determining ranking and the reasons for the relative importance of those main parameters as opposed to other parameters . ### providers of online intermediation services shall set out in their terms and conditions the main parameters determining ranking and the reasons for the relative importance of those main parameters as opposed to other parameters presented to the consumer as a result of his search query on the online marketplace .


### online intermediation services can be crucial for the commercial success of undertakings who use such services to reach consumers . the growing intermediation of transactions through online intermediation services , fuelled by strong data - driven indirect network effects , lead to an increased dependence of such business users , including micro , small and medium - sized enterprises , on those services in order for them to reach consumers . given that increasing dependence , the providers of those services often have superior bargaining power , which enables them to effectively behave unilaterally in a way that can be unfair and that can be harmful to the legitimate interests of their businesses users and , indirectly , also of consumers in the union . ### online intermediation services can be crucial for the commercial success of undertakings who use such services to reach consumers . the growing intermediation of transactions through online intermediation services , fuelled by strong data - driven indirect network effects , lead to an increased dependence of such business users , including micro , small and medium - sized enterprises , on those services in order for them to reach consumers . given that increasing dependence , the providers of those services often have superior bargaining power , which enables them to effectively behave unilaterally in a way that can be unfair and that can be harmful to the legitimate interests of their businesses users and , indirectly , also of consumers in the union . it should thus be avoided that online intermediation services attain a dominant market position and undermine competition by using the power of network effects . it should also be avoided that by classifying workers as independent contractors , platforms may circumvent the requirements of labour law .


### where , in the provision of their services , providers of online intermediation services restrict the ability of business users to offer the same goods and services to consumers under different conditions through other means than through those services , they shall include grounds for that restriction in their terms and conditions and make those grounds easily available to the public . those grounds shall include the main economic , commercial or legal considerations for those restrictions . ### providers of online intermediation services shall not restrict the ability of business users to offer the same goods and services to consumers under different or the same conditions through other online intermediation services . where , in the provision of their services , providers of online intermediation services restrict the ability of business users to offer the same goods and services to consumers under different conditions through other means than through those services , they shall include grounds for that restriction in their terms and conditions and make those grounds easily available to the public . those grounds shall include the main economic , commercial or legal considerations for those restrictions .


### this regulation shall apply to online intermediation services and online search engines provided , or offered to be provided , to business users and corporate website users , respectively , that have their place of establishment or residence in the union and that , through online intermediation services or online search engines , offer goods or services to consumers located in the union , irrespective of the place of establishment or residence of the providers of those services . ### this regulation shall apply to online intermediation services and online search engines provided , or offered to be provided , to business users and corporate website users , respectively , that have their place of establishment or are operating in the union and that , through online intermediation services or online search engines , offer goods or services to consumers located in the union , irrespective of the place of establishment or residence of the providers of those services .


### the description referred to in paragraph 1 shall cover at least , where applicable , any differentiated treatment through specific measures taken by , or the behaviour of , the provider of the online intermediation services relating to any of the following : ### the description referred to in paragraph 1 and 2 shall cover at least , where applicable , any differentiated treatment through specific measures taken by , or the behaviour of , the provider of the online intermediation services or the provider of online search engines relating to any of the following :


### they allow business users to offer goods or services to consumers , with a view to facilitating the initiating of direct transactions between those business users and consumers , irrespective of where those transactions are ultimately concluded ; ### their primary purpose is to enable business users to offer goods or services to consumers by initiating direct online transactions between those business users and consumers on the online portal of the provider of the online intermediation services in question or by direct link to that of the business user .


### in order to effectively protect business users where needed , this regulation should apply where the terms and conditions of a contractual relationship , regardless of their name or form , are not individually negotiated by the parties to them . whether or not terms and conditions were individually negotiated should be determined on the basis of an overall assessment , whereby the fact that certain provisions thereof may have been individually negotiated is , in itself , not decisive . ### in order to effectively protect business users where needed , this regulation should apply regardless of whether the provider of an online intermediation service and a business user are parties to an agreement that they individually negotiated .


### providers of online intermediation services and providers of online search engines shall , when complying with the requirements of this article , not be required to disclose any trade secrets as defined in article 2 of directive 2016 / 943 . ### providers of online intermediation services and providers of online search engines shall , when complying with the requirements of this article , not be required to disclose any trade secrets as defined in article 2 of directive 2016 / 943 . providers of online intermediation services and providers of online search engines shall also not be required to disclose any information that would be likely to facilitate either the manipulation of results or the deception of consumers .


### ' online search engine ' means a digital service that allows users to perform searches of , in principle , all websites or websites in a particular language on the basis of a query on any subject in the form of a keyword , phrase or other input , and returns links in which information related to the requested content can be found ; ### ' online search engine ' means a digital service , including inter alia digital interfaces and applications , including mobile applications with search functionality that allows users to perform searches on any subject in the form of a keyword , phrase or other input , and returns results in which information related to the requested content can be found ;


### particular attention should be paid to supporting mobility in the cross - border regions for and providing services to frontier workers who are living in one member state and working in another and have to cope with different national practices and legal systems and encounters specific administrative , legal or tax obstacles to mobility . member states may choose to set up specific support structures to facilitate this kind of mobility , such structures should , within the framework of the eures network , address the specific needs for information , guidance , cross - border matching between labour demand and supply and the resulting placements . ### particular attention should be paid to supporting mobility in the cross - border regions for and providing services to frontier workers who are living in one member state and working in another , the number of whom is rising constantly , and who have to cope with different national practices and legal systems and encounters specific administrative , legal or tax obstacles to mobility . member states should continue to provide backing for specific support structures that facilitate this kind of mobility and that address , within the framework of the eures network , the specific needs for information , advice , guidance , cross - border matching between labour demand and supply and the resulting placements .


### particular attention should be paid to supporting mobility in the cross - border regions for and providing services to frontier workers who are living in one member state and working in another and have to cope with different national practices and legal systems and encounters specific administrative , legal or tax obstacles to mobility . member states may choose to set up specific support structures to facilitate this kind of mobility , such structures should , within the framework of the eures network , address the specific needs for information , guidance , cross - border matching between labour demand and supply and the resulting placements . ### particular attention should be paid to supporting mobility in the cross - border regions for and providing services to frontier workers who are living in one member state and working in another and have to cope with different national practices and legal systems and encounter specific administrative , legal or tax obstacles to mobility . member states should set up specific support structures to facilitate this kind of mobility , and such structures should , within the framework of the eures network , address the specific needs for information , guidance , cross - border matching between labour demand and supply and the resulting placements .


### the analysis of geographic and occupational mobility ; ### the analysis of geographic and occupational mobility , taking into consideration specific local and regional characteristics ;


### eures partners may involve other eures partners or other organisations in order to comply together with the criteria in the annex . in such cases , the continued existence of an appropriate partnership is an additional condition for participation in the eures network . ### eures partners may involve other eures partners or other organisations in order to comply together with the criteria in the annex . in such cases , the continued existence of an appropriate partnership , including any current cross - border partnerships , is an additional condition for participation in the eures network .


### for the purpose of the first paragraph , this regulation provides for objectives , principles and rules on ### this regulation defines the principles and rules for a framework for cooperation to facilitate the exercise of freedom of movement for workers within the union , in accordance with article 45 tfeu , through :


### each member state shall set up a system to authorise eures partners to participate in the eures network , monitor their activities and their compliance with national and union law when applying this regulation . this system shall be transparent , proportionate and respect the principles of equal treatment for applicant organisations and due process of law . ### each member state shall set up a system to authorise eures partners &#8211 ; except for existing cross - border eures partners that have already proved their effectiveness &#8211 ; to participate in the eures network and to monitor their activities and their compliance with national and union law when applying this regulation . this system shall be transparent , proportionate and respect the principles of equal treatment for applicant organisations and due process of law .


### the monitoring and evaluation of eures activity and its employment performance , in co - operation with eures members ; ### the monitoring and evaluation of eures activity and its employment performance , in co - operation with eures members , and proposal of means of improving that activity , including by adapting it to specific local and regional characteristics ;


### growing interdependency between labour markets calls for reinforced cooperation between employment services to bring about freedom of movement for all workers through voluntary and fair labour mobility within the union in accordance with article 46 of the treaty , and therefore a common framework for cooperation should be established between member states and the commission on labour mobility within the union . this framework should bring together job vacancies from across the union and the possibility of applying for those job vacancies , define the provision of related support services to workers and employers and provide for a common approach to share information necessary to facilitate said co - operation . ### growing interdependency between labour markets calls for reinforced cooperation between employment services to bring about freedom of movement for all workers through voluntary and fair labour mobility within the union in accordance with article 46 of the treaty , and therefore a common framework for cooperation should be established between member states and the commission on labour mobility within the member states of the union and norway , iceland , switzerland and liechtenstein . this framework should bring together job vacancies from across the union and the above four states and the possibility of applying for those job vacancies , define the provision of related support services to workers and employers and provide for a common approach to share information necessary to facilitate said co - operation .


### each member state shall set up a system to authorise eures partners to participate in the eures network , monitor their activities and their compliance with national and union law when applying this regulation . this system shall be transparent , proportionate and respect the principles of equal treatment for applicant organisations and due process of law . ### each member state shall set up a system to authorise eures partners &#8211 ; including&#160 ; the&#160 ; existing cross - border eures partners that have already proved their effectiveness &#8211 ; to participate in the eures network and to monitor their activities and their compliance with national and union law when applying this regulation . &#160 ; this system shall be transparent , proportionate and respect the principles of equal treatment for applicant organisations and due process of law


### a broader membership of the eures network has social , economic and financial benefits . it improves efficiency in service delivery by facilitating partnerships , enhancing complementarity and quality improvements . it increases the market share of the eures network insofar as new members make available job vacancies , job applications and curriculum vitae . transnational and cross - border co - operation , which is a key feature of the operation of the eures network , could generate innovative forms of learning and co - operation between employment services , including on quality standards for job vacancies and support services . the eures network would therefore enhance its relevance as one of the key union tools available to member states and the european commission for supporting concrete measures towards a high level of employment within the union . ### broader membership of the eures network has social , economic and financial benefits . it improves efficiency in service delivery by facilitating partnerships , enhancing complementarity and quality improvements . it increases the market share of the eures network insofar as new members make available job vacancies , job applications and curriculum vitae . transnational and cross - border co - operation , which is a key feature of the operation of the eures network , should continue to generate innovative forms of learning and co - operation between employment services , including on quality standards for job vacancies and support services . the eures network would therefore enhance its relevance as one of the key union tools available to member states and the european commission for supporting concrete measures towards a high level of employment within the union .


### organisation of the work for eures in the member state , including the delivery of support services in accordance with chapter iv ; ### organisation of the work for eures in the member state , including the delivery of support services and to reflect specific local and regional characteristics , in accordance with chapter iv ;


### in accordance with their respective roles and responsibilities , all organisations participating in the eures network promote actively , in close cooperation , the opportunities labour mobility in the union offers and seek to enhance ways and means for workers and employers to seize these opportunities at local , regional , national and european level . ### in accordance with their respective roles and responsibilities , all organisations participating in the eures network promote actively , in close cooperation , the opportunities labour mobility in the union offers and seek to enhance ways and means for workers and employers to seize these opportunities at european , national , regional and local level , including on a cross - border basis .


### each member state ensures that its national coordination office gets the staff and other resources necessary to carry out its tasks as defined under this regulation . ### each member state ensures that its national coordination office gets the staff and other resources necessary to carry out its tasks as defined under this regulation , which also take into account local and regional interests .


### the competent authority shall have the power to issue a decision requiring the hosting service provider to remove terrorist content or disable access to it . ### the competent authority shall have the power to issue a removal order requiring the hosting service provider to remove illegal terrorist content .


### following the request , the competent authority should enter into a dialogue with the hosting service provider about the necessary proactive measures to be put in place . if necessary , the competent authority should impose the adoption of appropriate , effective and proportionate proactive measures where it considers that the measures taken are insufficient to meet the risks . a decision to impose such specific proactive measures should not , in principle , lead to the imposition of a general obligation to monitor , as provided in article 15 of directive 2000 / 31 / ec . considering the particularly grave risks associated with the dissemination of terrorist content , the decisions adopted by the competent authorities on the basis of this regulation could derogate from the approach established in article 15 of directive 2000 / 31 / ec , as regards certain specific , targeted measures , the adoption of which is necessary for overriding public security reasons . before adopting such decisions , the competent authority should strike a fair balance between the public interest objectives and the fundamental rights involved , in particular , the freedom of expression and information and the freedom to conduct a business , and provide appropriate justification . ### following the request , the competent authority should enter into a dialogue with the hosting service provider about the necessary proactive measures to be put in place . if necessary , the competent authority should impose the adoption of appropriate , effective and proportionate proactive measures where it considers that the measures taken are insufficient to meet the risks . the competent authority should only impose proactive measures that the hosting service provider can reasonably be expected to implement , taking into account , among other factors , the hosting service providers’ financial and other resources . a decision to impose such specific proactive measures should not lead to the imposition of a general obligation to monitor , as provided in article 15 of directive 2000 / 31 / ec . considering the particularly grave risks associated with the dissemination of terrorist content , the decisions adopted by the competent authorities on the basis of this regulation could , in exceptional circumstances , derogate from the approach established in article 15 of directive 2000 / 31 / ec , as regards certain specific , targeted measures , the adoption of which is necessary for overriding public security reasons . before adopting such decisions , the competent authority should strike a fair balance between the public interest objectives and the fundamental rights involved , in particular , the freedom of expression and information and the freedom to conduct a business , and provide appropriate justification .


### hosting service providers should apply certain duties of care , in order to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content on their services . these duties of care should not amount to a general monitoring obligation . duties of care should include that , when applying this regulation , hosting services providers act in a diligent , proportionate and non - discriminatory manner in respect of content that they store , in particular when implementing their own terms and conditions , with a view to avoiding removal of content which is not terrorist . the removal or disabling of access has to be undertaken in the observance of freedom of expression and information . ### hosting service providers should apply certain duties of care , in order to address the abuse of their services for the purposes of dissemination of illegal terrorist content by content providers . these duties of care should not amount to a general monitoring obligation . duties of care should include that , when applying this regulation , hosting services providers act in a diligent , proportionate and non - discriminatory manner in respect of content that they store , in particular when implementing their own terms and conditions , with a view to avoiding removal of content which is not illegal . the removal has to be undertaken in the observance of freedom of expression and freedom to receive and impart information


### the presence of terrorist content online has serious negative consequences for users , for citizens and society at large as well as for the online service providers hosting such content , since it undermines the trust of their users and damages their business models . in light of their central role and the technological means and capabilities associated with the services they provide , online service providers have particular societal responsibilities to protect their services from misuse by terrorists and to help tackle terrorist content disseminated through their services . ### while not the only factor , the presence of terrorist content online has proven to be crucial in terms of radicalising individuals who have committed terrorist acts within the union and beyond , which has had very serious negative consequences for citizens and society at large , but also for the online service providers hosting such content , since it undermines the trust of their users and damages their business models . accordingly , in light of their central role and professional capabilities , in addition to the technological means associated with the services they provide , while taking account of the importance of safeguarding the fundamental freedoms of expression and information , online service providers have particular societal responsibilities to protect their services from misuse by terrorists and to help tackle terrorist content disseminated through their services .


### hosting service providers should apply certain duties of care , in order to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content on their services . these duties of care should not amount to a general monitoring obligation . duties of care should include that , when applying this regulation , hosting services providers act in a diligent , proportionate and non - discriminatory manner in respect of content that they store , in particular when implementing their own terms and conditions , with a view to avoiding removal of content which is not terrorist . the removal or disabling of access has to be undertaken in the observance of freedom of expression and information . ### hosting service providers should apply certain duties of care , in order to prevent and deter the dissemination of terrorist content on their services . these duties of care should not amount to a general monitoring obligation and should be without prejudice to article 15 of directive 2000 / 31 / ec . duties of care should include that , when applying this regulation , hosting services providers act in a diligent , proportionate and non - discriminatory manner in respect of content that they store , in particular when implementing their own terms and conditions , with a view to avoiding removal of content which is not terrorist . freedom of expression and information should be duly respected when removing or disabling access . effective and expeditious complaints and redress mechanisms should be made available by the hosting service providers in the case of unjustified removals of content .


### transparency of hosting service providers ' policies in relation to terrorist content is essential to enhance their accountability towards their users and to reinforce trust of citizens in the digital single market . hosting service providers should publish annual transparency reports containing meaningful information about action taken in relation to the detection , identification and removal of terrorist content . ### transparency of hosting service providers ' policies in relation to illegal terrorist content is essential to enhance their accountability towards their users and to reinforce trust of citizens in the digital single market . hosting service providers should publish annual transparency reports containing meaningful information about action taken in relation to the detection , identification and removal of illegal terrorist content .


### in order to cover those online hosting services where terrorist content is disseminated , this regulation should apply to information society services which store information provided by a recipient of the service at his or her request and in making the information stored available to third parties , irrespective of whether this activity is of a mere technical , automatic and passive nature . by way of example such providers of information society services include social media platforms , video streaming services , video , image and audio sharing services , file sharing and other cloud services to the extent they make the information available to third parties and websites where users can make comments or post reviews . the regulation should also apply to hosting service providers established outside the union but offering services within the union , since a significant proportion of hosting service providers exposed to terrorist content on their services are established in third countries . this should ensure that all companies operating in the digital single market comply with the same requirements , irrespective of their country of establishment . the determination as to whether a service provider offers services in the union requires an assessment whether the service provider enables legal or natural persons in one or more member states to use its services . however , the mere accessibility of a service provider’s website or of an email address and of other contact details in one or more member states taken in isolation should not be a sufficient condition for the application of this regulation . ### in order to cover those online hosting services where terrorist content is disseminated , this regulation should apply to information society services which store information provided by a recipient of the service at his or her request and in making the information stored directly available to the public . by way of example such providers of information society services include social media platforms , video streaming services , video , image and audio sharing services , file sharing and other cloud services , excluding cloud it infrastructure service providers , to the extent they make the information directly available to the public . the regulation should also apply to hosting service providers established outside the union but offering services within the union , since a significant proportion of hosting service providers exposed to terrorist content on their services are established in third countries . this should ensure that all companies operating in the digital single market comply with the same requirements , irrespective of their country of establishment . the determination as to whether a service provider offers services in the union requires an assessment whether the service provider enables legal or natural persons in one or more member states to use its services . however , the mere accessibility of a service provider’s website or of an email address and of other contact details in one or more member states taken in isolation should not be a sufficient condition for the application of this regulation .


### based on the findings and conclusions in the implementation report and the outcome of the monitoring exercise , the commission should carry out an evaluation of this regulation no sooner than three years after its entry into force . the evaluation should be based on the five criteria of efficiency , effectiveness , relevance , coherence and eu added value . it will assess the functioning of the different operational and technical measures foreseen under the regulation , including the effectiveness of measures to enhance the detection , identification and removal of terrorist content , the effectiveness of safeguard mechanisms as well as the impacts on potentially affected rights and interests of third parties , including a review of the requirement to inform content providers . ### based on the findings and conclusions in the implementation report and the outcome of the monitoring exercise , the commission should carry out an evaluation of this regulation no sooner than three years after its entry into force . the evaluation should be based on the five criteria of necessity and proportionality , effectiveness , relevance , coherence and eu added value . it will assess the functioning of the different operational and technical measures foreseen under the regulation , including the effectiveness of removal of illegal terrorist content , the effectiveness of the safeguard mechanisms as well as the impacts to the affected fundamental rights and interests of individuals , including a review of the requirement to inform content providers .


### to ensure proportionality , the period of preservation should be limited to six months to allow the content providers sufficient time to initiate the review process and to enable law enforcement access to relevant data for the investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences . however , this period may be prolonged for the period that is necessary in case the review proceedings are initiated but not finalised within the six months period upon request by the authority carrying out the review . this duration should be sufficient to allow law enforcement authorities to preserve the necessary evidence in relation to investigations , while ensuring the balance with the fundamental rights concerned . ### to ensure proportionality , the period of preservation should be limited to six months to allow the content providers sufficient time to initiate the review process . however , this period may be prolonged for the period that is necessary for the sole case that the review proceedings are initiated but not finalised within the six months period upon request by the authority carrying out the review .


### hosting service providers shall publish annual transparency reports on action taken against the dissemination of terrorist content . ### hosting service providers shall make publicly available annual transparency reports on action taken against the abuse of their services for the purposes of dissemination of illegal terrorist content by content providers .


### rules on duties of care to be applied by hosting service providers in order to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content through their services and ensure , where necessary , its swift removal ; ### rules on duties of care to be applied by hosting service providers in order to address the public dissemination of illegal terrorist content through their services and ensure its swift removal following a removal order ;


### the presence of terrorist content online has serious negative consequences for users , for citizens and society at large as well as for the online service providers hosting such content , since it undermines the trust of their users and damages their business models . in light of their central role and the technological means and capabilities associated with the services they provide , online service providers have particular societal responsibilities to protect their services from misuse by terrorists and to help tackle terrorist content disseminated through their services . ### the presence of terrorist content online has serious negative consequences for users , for citizens and society at large as well as for the online service providers hosting such content , since it undermines the trust of their users and damages their business models . in light of their central role and the technological means and capabilities associated with the services they provide , online service providers could support competent judicial authorities to protect their services from being used by terrorists and to help tackle terrorist content disseminated through their services .


### where hosting service providers use automated tools pursuant to this regulation in respect of content that they store , they shall provide effective and appropriate safeguards to ensure that decisions taken concerning that content , in particular decisions to remove or disable content considered to be terrorist content , are accurate and well - founded . ### where hosting service providers use automated tools pursuant to this regulation in respect of content that they store , they shall provide effective and appropriate safeguards to ensure that decisions taken concerning that content , in particular decisions to remove or disable access to content considered to be terrorist content , are accurate and well - founded .


### following the request , the competent authority should enter into a dialogue with the hosting service provider about the necessary proactive measures to be put in place . if necessary , the competent authority should impose the adoption of appropriate , effective and proportionate proactive measures where it considers that the measures taken are insufficient to meet the risks . a decision to impose such specific proactive measures should not , in principle , lead to the imposition of a general obligation to monitor , as provided in article 15 of directive 2000 / 31 / ec . considering the particularly grave risks associated with the dissemination of terrorist content , the decisions adopted by the competent authorities on the basis of this regulation could derogate from the approach established in article 15 of directive 2000 / 31 / ec , as regards certain specific , targeted measures , the adoption of which is necessary for overriding public security reasons . before adopting such decisions , the competent authority should strike a fair balance between the public interest objectives and the fundamental rights involved , in particular , the freedom of expression and information and the freedom to conduct a business , and provide appropriate justification . ### following the request , the competent authority should enter into a dialogue with the hosting service provider about the necessary proactive measures to be put in place . if necessary , the competent authority should impose the adoption of appropriate , effective and proportionate proactive measures where it considers that the measures taken are insufficient to meet the risks . a decision to impose such specific proactive measures should not lead to the imposition of a general obligation to monitor , as provided in article 15 of directive 2000 / 31 / ec , and has to guarantee that it does not conflicted with existing eu law , in particular the latter e - commerce directive and its article 15 . considering the particularly grave risks associated with the dissemination of terrorist content , the decisions adopted by the competent judicial authorities on the basis of this regulation could derogate from the approach established in article 15 of directive 2000 / 31 / ec , as regards certain specific , targeted measures , the adoption of which is necessary for overriding public security reasons . before adopting such decisions , the competent judicial authority should strike a fair balance between the public interest objectives and the fundamental rights involved , in particular , the freedom of expression and information and the freedom to conduct a business , and provide appropriate justification .


### overview and outcome of complaint procedures . ### overview and outcome of complaint procedures , including the number of cases in which it was established that content was wrongly identified as illegal terrorist content .


### when putting in place proactive measures , hosting service providers should ensure that users’ right to freedom of expression and information - including to freely receive and impart information - is preserved . in addition to any requirement laid down in the law , including the legislation on protection of personal data , hosting service providers should act with due diligence and implement safeguards , including notably human oversight and verifications , where appropriate , to avoid any unintended and erroneous decision leading to removal of content that is not terrorist content . this is of particular relevance when hosting service providers use automated means to detect terrorist content . any decision to use automated means , whether taken by the hosting service provider itself or pursuant to a request by the competent authority , should be assessed with regard to the reliability of the underlying technology and the ensuing impact on fundamental rights . ### when exercising duty of care , hosting service providers should ensure that users’ right to freedom of expression and freedom to receive and impart information is preserved . in addition to any requirement laid down in the law , including the legislation on protection of personal data and protection of privacy , the hosting service providers should act with due diligence and implement safeguards , including notably human oversight and verifications , as well as periodic review of actions taken to avoid any unintended and erroneous practices leading to removal of content that is not illegal terrorist content . the hosting service providers should also ensure that their exercising due care does not produce disproportionate , discriminatory , untargeted , unspecific or unjustified effects .


### information about the hosting service provider’s measures to prevent the re - upload of content which has previously been removed or to which access has been disabled because it is considered to be terrorist content ; ### information , in cooperation with the administrative authorities , about the number of removals of content that has led to detection , investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences ;


### in order to avoid duplication and possible interferences with investigations , the competent authorities should inform , coordinate and cooperate with each other and where appropriate with europol when issuing removal orders or sending referrals to hosting service providers . in implementing the provisions of this regulation , europol could provide support in line with its current mandate and existing legal framework . ### in order to avoid duplication and possible interferences with investigations , the competent authorities should inform , coordinate and cooperate with each other and where appropriate with europol when issuing removal orders to hosting service providers .


### penalties are necessary to ensure the effective implementation by hosting service providers of the obligations pursuant to this regulation . member states should adopt rules on penalties , including , where appropriate , fining guidelines . particularly severe penalties shall be ascertained in the event that the hosting service provider systematically fails to remove terrorist content or disable access to it within one hour from receipt of a removal order . non - compliance in individual cases could be sanctioned while respecting the principles of ne bis in idem and of proportionality and ensuring that such sanctions take account of systematic failure . in order to ensure legal certainty , the regulation should set out to what extent the relevant obligations can be subject to penalties . penalties for non - compliance with article 6 should only be adopted in relation to obligations arising from a request to report pursuant to article 6 or a decision imposing additional proactive measures pursuant to article 6 . when determining whether or not financial penalties should be imposed , due account should be taken of the financial resources of the provider . member states shall ensure that penalties do not encourage the removal of content which is not terrorist content . ### penalties are necessary to ensure the effective implementation by hosting service providers of the obligations pursuant to this regulation , and should also take into account the situation of subsidiaries or linked undertakings where applicable . member states should adopt rules on penalties , including , where appropriate , fining guidelines . penalties should be ascertained in the event that the hosting service provider systematically fails to remove terrorist content or disable access to it within the period specified by the competent authority . when assessing the nature of the breach and deciding upon applying penalties , full respect should be given to fundamental rights , such as the freedom of expression . when determining whether or not financial penalties should be imposed , due account should be taken of the financial resources of the provider , unintentional delays , in particular by small and medium sized businesses and start - ups . member states should ensure that penalties do not encourage the removal of content which is not terrorist content .


### in order to provide clarity about the actions that both hosting service providers and competent authorities should take to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content online , this regulation should establish a definition of terrorist content for preventative purposes drawing on the definition of terrorist offences under directive 2017 / 541 of the european parliament and of the council9 . given the need to address the most harmful terrorist propaganda online , the definition should capture material and information that incites , encourages or advocates the commission or contribution to terrorist offences , provides instructions for the commission of such offences or promotes the participation in activities of a terrorist group . such information includes in particular text , images , sound recordings and videos . when assessing whether content constitutes terrorist content within the meaning of this regulation , competent authorities as well as hosting service providers should take into account factors such as the nature and wording of the statements , the context in which the statements were made and their potential to lead to harmful consequences , thereby affecting the security and safety of persons . the fact that the material was produced by , is attributable to or disseminated on behalf of an eu - listed terrorist organisation or person constitutes an important factor in the assessment . content disseminated for educational , journalistic or research purposes should be adequately protected . furthermore , the expression of radical , polemic or controversial views in the public debate on sensitive political questions should not be considered terrorist content . __________________ 9 directive 2017 / 541 of the european parliament and of the council of 15 march 2017 on combating terrorism and replacing council framework decision 2002 / 475 / jha and amending council decision 2005 / 671 / jha . ### in order to provide clarity about the actions that both hosting service providers and the competent authority should take to restrict the dissemination of terrorist content online , this regulation should establish a definition of terrorist content in line with the definition of terrorist offences under directive 2017 / 541 of the european parliament and of the council 9 . given the need to address terrorist propaganda online , the definition should capture material and information that intentionally incites or advocates the commission of terrorist offences , or intentionally provides instructions for the making and use of explosives , firearms or other weapons or noxious or hazardous substances for the purpose of the commission of such offences , knowing that the skills provided are intended to be used for this purpose , or participates in activities of a terrorist group . such information includes in particular text , images , sound recordings and videos . when assessing whether content constitutes terrorist content within the meaning of this regulation , competent authorities should take into account factors such as the nature and wording of the statements , the context in which the statements were made , their intentionality and their potential to lead to harmful consequences , thereby affecting the security and safety of persons . the fact that the content was produced by , are attributable to or disseminated on behalf of an eu - listed terrorist organisation or person constitutes an important factor in the assessment . content disseminated for educational , counter - narrative , journalistic or research purposes should be strongly protected . where the disseminated material is published under the editorial responsibility of the hosting provider , any decision as to the removal of such content should take into account the journalistic standards established by press or media regulation consistent with the law of the union and the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom and pluralism of the media as enshrined in article 11 of the charter of fundamental rights . furthermore , the expression of radical , polemic or controversial views in the public debate on sensitive political questions should not be considered terrorist content . the right to such expression can be invoked before the court of the member state where the hosting service provider has its main establishment or where the legal representative designated by the hosting service provider pursuant to this regulation resides or is established , as well as the court of the member state where the content provider is based . __________________ 9 directive 2017 / 541 of the european parliament and of the council of 15 march 2017 on combating terrorism and replacing council framework decision 2002 / 475 / jha and amending council decision 2005 / 671 / jha .


### this regulation contributes to the protection of public security while establishing appropriate and robust safeguards to ensure protection of the fundamental rights at stake . this includes the rights to respect for private life and to the protection of personal data , the right to effective judicial protection , the right to freedom of expression , including the freedom to receive and impart information , the freedom to conduct a business , and the principle of non - discrimination . competent authorities and hosting service providers should only adopt measures which are necessary , appropriate and proportionate within a democratic society , taking into account the particular importance accorded to the freedom of expression and information , which constitutes one of the essential foundations of a pluralist , democratic society , and is one of the values on which the union is founded . measures constituting interference in the freedom of expression and information should be strictly targeted , in the sense that they must serve to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content , but without thereby affecting the right to lawfully receive and impart information , taking into account the central role of hosting service providers in facilitating public debate and the distribution and receipt of facts , opinions and ideas in accordance with the law . ### this regulation seeks to contribute to the protection of public security and should establish appropriate and robust safeguards to ensure protection of the fundamental rights at stake . this includes the rights to respect for private life and to the protection of personal data , the right to effective judicial protection , the right to freedom of expression , including the freedom to receive and impart information , the freedom to conduct a business , and the principle of non - discrimination . competent authorities and hosting service providers should only adopt measures which are necessary and proportionate in a democratic society , taking into account the particular importance accorded to the freedom of expression and freedom to receive and impart information , as well as the respect for private life and the protection of personal data , which constitute the essential foundations of a pluralist , democratic society , and are among the values on which the union is founded . measures constituting an interference with the freedom of expression and freedom to receive and impart information should be strictly proportionate and necessary , narrowly targeted , in the sense that they must serve to prevent the dissemination of illegal terrorist content only , and without thereby affecting the right to lawfully receive and impart information , taking into account the central role of hosting service providers in facilitating public debate and the distribution and receipt of facts , opinions and ideas in accordance with the law .


### in order to ensure that hosting service providers exposed to terrorist content take appropriate measures to prevent the misuse of their services , the competent authorities should request hosting service providers having received a removal order , which has become final , to report on the proactive measures taken . these could consist of measures to prevent the re - upload of terrorist content , removed or access to it disabled as a result of a removal order or referrals they received , checking against publicly or privately - held tools containing known terrorist content . they may also employ the use of reliable technical tools to identify new terrorist content , either using those available on the market or those developed by the hosting service provider . the service provider should report on the specific proactive measures in place in order to allow the competent authority to judge whether the measures are effective and proportionate and whether , if automated means are used , the hosting service provider has the necessary abilities for human oversight and verification . in assessing the effectiveness and proportionality of the measures , competent authorities should take into account relevant parameters including the number of removal orders and referrals issued to the provider , their economic capacity and the impact of its service in disseminating terrorist content . ### in order to ensure that hosting service providers exposed to illegal terrorist content take appropriate measures to prevent the misuse of their services by content providers , the competent authorities should request hosting service providers having received a removal order , which has become final , to report on the measures taken .


### ' terrorist offences ' means offences as defined in article 3 of directive 2017 / 541 ; ### ' terrorist offences ' means intentional acts as defined in article 3 , and where committed with one of the aims listed in article 3 of directive 2017 / 541 ;


### in order to cover those online hosting services where terrorist content is disseminated , this regulation should apply to information society services which store information provided by a recipient of the service at his or her request and in making the information stored available to third parties , irrespective of whether this activity is of a mere technical , automatic and passive nature . by way of example such providers of information society services include social media platforms , video streaming services , video , image and audio sharing services , file sharing and other cloud services to the extent they make the information available to third parties and websites where users can make comments or post reviews . the regulation should also apply to hosting service providers established outside the union but offering services within the union , since a significant proportion of hosting service providers exposed to terrorist content on their services are established in third countries . this should ensure that all companies operating in the digital single market comply with the same requirements , irrespective of their country of establishment . the determination as to whether a service provider offers services in the union requires an assessment whether the service provider enables legal or natural persons in one or more member states to use its services . however , the mere accessibility of a service provider’s website or of an email address and of other contact details in one or more member states taken in isolation should not be a sufficient condition for the application of this regulation . ### in order to cover those online hosting services where terrorist content is disseminated , this regulation should only apply to information society services which store information provided by a recipient of the service at his or her request and make such content available to the public , which means that the content providers do not predetermine the scope of potential users of the content . by way of example such providers include video - sharing platforms , social media platforms , streaming services , image and audio sharing services , file sharing services , and other cloud and storage services , with the exception of business - to - business cloud hosting service providers , to the extent they make the content available to the public . for the purpose of this regulation , web hosting service providers that provide the technical infrastructure to website operators , mere conduits and other electronic communication services , caching services , cloud it infrastructure services , protection services , other services provided in other layers of the internet infrastructure , such as registries and registrars , domain name systems , adjacent services , such as payment services , distributed denial of service , protection services , interpersonal communication services that enable direct interpersonal and interactive exchange of information between a finite number of persons , whereby the persons initiating or participating in the communication determine its recipient , should be therefore excluded from its scope . ' cloud infrastructure services ' which consist in the provision of on demand physical or virtual resources that provide computing and storage infrastructure capabilities on which the service provider has no contractual rights as to what content is stored or how it is processed or made publicly available by its customers or by the end - users of such customers , and where the service provider has no technical capability to remove specific content stored by their customers or the end - users of their customers , should also be excluded from the scope of this regulation . the regulation should also apply to hosting service providers established outside the union but offering services within the union , since a significant proportion of hosting service providers exposed to terrorist content on their services are established in third countries . this should ensure that all companies operating in the digital single market comply with the same requirements , irrespective of their country of establishment . the determination as to whether a service provider offers services in the union requires an assessment whether the service provider enables legal or natural persons in one or more member states to use its services . however , the mere accessibility of a service provider’s website or of an email address and of other contact details in one or more member states taken in isolation should not be a sufficient condition for the application of this regulation .


### hosting service providers shall preserve terrorist content which has been removed or disabled as a result of a removal order , a referral or as a result of proactive measures pursuant to articles 4 , 5 and 6 and related data removed as a consequence of the removal of the terrorist content and which is necessary for : ### hosting service providers shall preserve illegal terrorist content which has been removed as a result of a removal order , pursuant to article 4 and related data removed as a consequence of the removal of the illegal terrorist content and which is solely necessary for :


### for the purposes of this regulation , member states should designate competent authorities . the requirement to designate competent authorities does not necessarily require the establishment of new authorities but can be existing bodies tasked with the functions set out in this regulation . this regulation requires designating authorities competent for issuing removal orders , referrals and for overseeing proactive measures and for imposing penalties . it is for member states to decide how many authorities they wish to designate for these tasks . ### for the purposes of this regulation , member states should designate competent authorities . the requirement to designate competent authorities does not necessarily require the establishment of new authorities but can be existing bodies tasked with the functions set out in this regulation . this regulation requires designating authorities competent for issuing removal orders , and for overseeing proactive measures and for imposing penalties .


### ‘ dissemination of terrorist content’ means making terrorist content available to third parties on the hosting service providers’ services ; ### ‘ dissemination of terrorist content’ means making terrorist content available to the public on the hosting service providers’ services ;


### where hosting service providers use automated tools pursuant to this regulation in respect of content that they store , they shall provide effective and appropriate safeguards to ensure that decisions taken concerning that content , in particular decisions to remove or disable content considered to be terrorist content , are accurate and well - founded . ### where hosting service providers use measures that go beyond their obligations pursuant to this regulation in respect of content that they store , they shall provide effective and appropriate safeguards to ensure that decisions taken concerning that content , in particular decisions to remove or disable content considered to be terrorist content , &#160 ; are accurate and well - founded and do not lead to the removal of or disabling access to legal content .


### hosting service providers shall establish effective and accessible mechanisms allowing content providers whose content has been removed or access to it disabled as a result of a referral pursuant to article 5 or of proactive measures pursuant to article 6 , to submit a complaint against the action of the hosting service provider requesting reinstatement of the content . ### hosting service providers shall establish an effective and accessible complaint mechanism allowing content providers , whose content has been removed , to submit a complaint against the action of the hosting service provider requesting reinstatement of the content .


### penalties are necessary to ensure the effective implementation by hosting service providers of the obligations pursuant to this regulation . member states should adopt rules on penalties , including , where appropriate , fining guidelines . particularly severe penalties shall be ascertained in the event that the hosting service provider systematically fails to remove terrorist content or disable access to it within one hour from receipt of a removal order . non - compliance in individual cases could be sanctioned while respecting the principles of ne bis in idem and of proportionality and ensuring that such sanctions take account of systematic failure . in order to ensure legal certainty , the regulation should set out to what extent the relevant obligations can be subject to penalties . penalties for non - compliance with article 6 should only be adopted in relation to obligations arising from a request to report pursuant to article 6 or a decision imposing additional proactive measures pursuant to article 6 . when determining whether or not financial penalties should be imposed , due account should be taken of the financial resources of the provider . member states shall ensure that penalties do not encourage the removal of content which is not terrorist content . ### penalties are necessary to ensure the effective implementation by hosting service providers of the obligations pursuant to this regulation . member states should adopt rules on penalties , including , where appropriate , fining guidelines . particularly severe penalties shall be ascertained in the event that the hosting service provider systematically refuses to remove illegal terrorist content without undue delay from the receipt of a removal order . non - compliance in individual cases could be sanctioned while respecting the principles of ne bis in idem and of proportionality and ensuring that such sanctions take account of systematic failure . in order to ensure legal certainty , the regulation should set out to what extent the relevant obligations can be subject to penalties . when determining whether or not financial penalties should be imposed , due account should be taken of the financial resources of the provider . member states shall ensure that penalties do not encourage the removal of content which is not illegal terrorist content .


### a set of measures to be put in place by member states to identify terrorist content , to enable its swift removal by hosting service providers and to facilitate cooperation with the competent authorities in other member states , hosting service providers and where appropriate relevant union bodies . ### a set of measures to be put in place by member states to identify the illegal terrorist content , to enable its swift removal by hosting service providers following a removal order and to facilitate cooperation with the competent authorities in other member states and hosting service providers .


### the procedure and obligations resulting from legal orders requesting hosting service providers to remove terrorist content or disable access to it , following an assessment by the competent authorities , should be harmonised . member states should remain free as to the choice of the competent authorities allowing them to designate administrative , law enforcement or judicial authorities with that task . given the speed at which terrorist content is disseminated across online services , this provision imposes obligations on hosting service providers to ensure that terrorist content identified in the removal order is removed or access to it is disabled within one hour from receiving the removal order . it is for the hosting service providers to decide whether to remove the content in question or disable access to the content for users in the union . ### the procedure and obligations resulting from legal removal orders requesting hosting service providers to remove illegal terrorist content , following an assessment by the competent authorities , should be harmonised . given the speed at which illegal terrorist content is disseminated across online services , this provision imposes obligations on hosting service providers to ensure that illegal terrorist content identified in the removal order is removed without undue delay after receiving the removal order .


### ‘ dissemination of terrorist content’ means making terrorist content available to third parties on the hosting service providers’ services ; ### ‘ dissemination of terrorist content’ means making terrorist content publicly available to third parties on the hosting service providers’ services ;


### information about the hosting service provider’s measures to prevent the re - upload of content which has previously been removed or to which access has been disabled because it is considered to be terrorist content ; ### information , in cooperation with the administrative authorities , about the number of removals of content that has led to detection , investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences ;


### in order to cover those online hosting services where terrorist content is disseminated , this regulation should apply to information society services which store information provided by a recipient of the service at his or her request and in making the information stored available to third parties , irrespective of whether this activity is of a mere technical , automatic and passive nature . by way of example such providers of information society services include social media platforms , video streaming services , video , image and audio sharing services , file sharing and other cloud services to the extent they make the information available to third parties and websites where users can make comments or post reviews . the regulation should also apply to hosting service providers established outside the union but offering services within the union , since a significant proportion of hosting service providers exposed to terrorist content on their services are established in third countries . this should ensure that all companies operating in the digital single market comply with the same requirements , irrespective of their country of establishment . the determination as to whether a service provider offers services in the union requires an assessment whether the service provider enables legal or natural persons in one or more member states to use its services . however , the mere accessibility of a service provider’s website or of an email address and of other contact details in one or more member states taken in isolation should not be a sufficient condition for the application of this regulation . ### in order to cover those online hosting services where terrorist content is disseminated , this regulation should apply to information society services which store information provided by a recipient of the service at his or her request and in making the information and material stored available to the public , irrespective of whether this activity is of a mere technical , automatic and passive nature . by way of example such providers of information society services include social media platforms , video streaming services , video , image and audio sharing services , file sharing and other cloud services , to the extent they make the information available to the public and websites where users can make comments or post reviews . cloud infrastructure services which comprise the provision of on demand physical or virtual resources that provide computing and storage infrastructure capabilities on which the service provider has no contractual rights as to what content is stored or how it is processed or made publicly available by its customers or by the end - users of such customers , and where the service provider has no technical capability to remove specific content stored by their customers or the end - users of their customers , should not be considered to fall within the scope of this regulation . the regulation should also apply to hosting service providers established outside the union but offering services within the union , since a significant proportion of hosting service providers exposed to terrorist content on their services are established in third countries . this should ensure that all companies operating in the digital single market comply with the same requirements , irrespective of their country of establishment . the determination as to whether a service provider offers services in the union requires an assessment whether the service provider enables legal or natural persons in one or more member states to use its services . however , the mere accessibility of a service provider’s website or of an email address and of other contact details in one or more member states taken in isolation should not be a sufficient condition for the application of this regulation .


### if the hosting service provider cannot comply with the removal order because the removal order contains manifest errors or does not contain sufficient information to execute the order , it shall inform the competent authority without undue delay , asking for the necessary clarification , using the template set out in annex iii . the deadline set out in paragraph 2 shall apply as soon as the clarification is provided . ### if the hosting service provider refuses to comply with the removal order because the removal order contains manifest errors , does not sufficiently establish the illegality of the content , or does not contain sufficient information to execute the order , it shall inform the competent authority without undue delay , asking for the necessary clarification , using the template set out in annex iii . in such cases , the competent authority shall reply promptly .


### this regulation aims at ensuring the smooth functioning of the digital single market in an open and democratic society , by preventing the misuse of hosting services for terrorist purposes . the functioning of the digital single market should be improved by reinforcing legal certainty for hosting service providers , reinforcing users ' trust in the online environment , and by strengthening safeguards to the freedom of expression and information . ### this regulation aims at ensuring the smooth functioning of the digital single market in an open and democratic society , by preventing the abuse of hosting services for the purposes of disseminating illegal terrorist content , by content providers . the functioning of the digital single market should be improved by reinforcing legal certainty for hosting service providers , reinforcing users ' trust in the online environment , and by strengthening safeguards for the protection of fundamental rights , including the freedom of expression and freedom to receive and impart information , as well as the respect for private life and the protection of personal data .


### the obligation on hosting service providers to preserve removed content and related data , should be laid down for specific purposes and limited in time to what is necessary . there is need to extend the preservation requirement to related data to the extent that any such data would otherwise be lost as a consequence of the removal of the content in question . related data can include data such as ‘ subscriber data’ , including in particular data pertaining to the identity of the content provider as well as ‘ access data’ , including for instance data about the date and time of use by the content provider , or the log - in to and log - off from the service , together with the ip address allocated by the internet access service provider to the content provider . ### the obligation on hosting service providers to preserve removed content and related data , should be for the sole purpose of proceedings of administrative or judicial review and remedy and limited in time to what is strictly necessary , but generally not exceeding six months . where there is legitimate need to extend the preservation requirement to related data , it can only be preserved to the extent that any such data would otherwise be lost as a consequence of the removal of the content in question . related data should be limited to ‘ subscriber data’ , i . e . data pertaining to the identity of the content provider as well as ‘ access data’ , i . e . data about the date and time of use by the content provider , or the log - in to and log - off from the service , together with the ip address allocated by the internet access service provider to the content provider .


### efforts at union level to counter terrorist content online commenced in 2015 through a framework of voluntary cooperation between member states and hosting service providers need to be complemented by a clear legislative framework in order to further reduce accessibility to terrorist content online and adequately address a rapidly evolving problem . this legislative framework seeks to build on voluntary efforts , which were reinforced by the commission recommendation 2018 / 3347and responds to calls made by the european parliament to strengthen measures to tackle illegal and harmful content and by the european council to improve the automatic detection and removal of content that incites to terrorist acts . _________________ 7 commission recommendation 2018 / 334 of 1 march 2018 on measures to effectively tackle illegal content online . ### efforts at union level to counter terrorist content online commenced in 2015 through a framework of voluntary cooperation between member states and hosting service providers need to be complemented by a clear legislative framework uniformly applicable in all eu member states in order to further reduce accessibility to terrorist content online and adequately address a rapidly evolving problem . this legislative framework seeks to build on voluntary efforts , which were reinforced by the commission recommendation 2018 / 3347 and responds to calls made by the european parliament to strengthen measures to tackle illegal and harmful content and by the european council to improve the automatic detection and removal of content that incites to terrorist acts .


### hosting service providers shall set out in their terms and conditions their policy to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content , including , where appropriate , a meaningful explanation of the functioning of proactive measures including the use of automated tools . ### hosting service providers shall clearly set out in their terms and conditions their policy to tackle the dissemination of terrorist content , including , where appropriate , a meaningful explanation of the functioning of proactive measures including the use of automated tools and to collaborate with the relevant competent authorities .


### information about the hosting service provider’s measures to prevent the re - upload of content which has previously been removed or to which access has been disabled because it is considered to be terrorist content ; ### detailed information about the hosting service provider’s measures to address the reappearance of content which has previously been removed or to which access has been disabled because it is considered to be terrorist content ;


### where relevant , the decision not to disclose information about the removal of terrorist content or the disabling of access to it referred to in article 11 . ### where necessary and proportionate , the decision not to disclose information about the removal of illegal terrorist content referred to in article 11 .


### in order to cover those online hosting services where terrorist content is disseminated , this regulation should apply to information society services which store information provided by a recipient of the service at his or her request and in making the information stored available to third parties , irrespective of whether this activity is of a mere technical , automatic and passive nature . by way of example such providers of information society services include social media platforms , video streaming services , video , image and audio sharing services , file sharing and other cloud services to the extent they make the information available to third parties and websites where users can make comments or post reviews . the regulation should also apply to hosting service providers established outside the union but offering services within the union , since a significant proportion of hosting service providers exposed to terrorist content on their services are established in third countries . this should ensure that all companies operating in the digital single market comply with the same requirements , irrespective of their country of establishment . the determination as to whether a service provider offers services in the union requires an assessment whether the service provider enables legal or natural persons in one or more member states to use its services . however , the mere accessibility of a service provider’s website or of an email address and of other contact details in one or more member states taken in isolation should not be a sufficient condition for the application of this regulation . ### in order to cover those online hosting services where terrorist content is disseminated , this regulation should apply to information society services which store information provided by a recipient of the service at his or her request and in making the information stored directly available to the public . by way of example such providers of information society services include social media platforms , video streaming services , video , image and audio sharing services , file sharing and other cloud services , excluding cloud it infrastructure service providers , to the extent they make the information directly available to the public . the regulation should also apply to hosting service providers established outside the union but offering services within the union , since a significant proportion of hosting service providers exposed to terrorist content on their services are established in third countries . this should ensure that all companies operating in the digital single market comply with the same requirements , irrespective of their country of establishment . the determination as to whether a service provider offers services in the union requires an assessment whether the service provider enables legal or natural persons in one or more member states to use its services . however , the mere accessibility of a service provider’s website or of an email address and of other contact details in one or more member states taken in isolation should not be a sufficient condition for the application of this regulation .


### hosting service providers shall take appropriate , reasonable and proportionate actions in accordance with this regulation , against the dissemination of terrorist content and to protect users from terrorist content . in doing so , they shall act in a diligent , proportionate and non - discriminatory manner , and with due regard to the fundamental rights of the users and take into account the fundamental importance of the freedom of expression and information in an open and democratic society . ### hosting service providers shall take appropriate , reasonable and proportionate actions in accordance with this regulation , against the dissemination of terrorist content to the public and to protect users from terrorist content . in doing so , they shall act in a diligent , proportionate and non - discriminatory manner , with due respect to fundamental rights of the users , in particular freedom of expression and information .


### effective legal protection according to article 19 teu and article 47 of the charter of fundamental rights of the european union requires that persons are able to ascertain the reasons upon which the content uploaded by them has been removed or access to it disabled . for that purpose , the hosting service provider should make available to the content provider meaningful information enabling the content provider to contest the decision . however , this does not necessarily require a notification to the content provider . depending on the circumstances , hosting service providers may replace content which is considered terrorist content , with a message that it has been removed or disabled in accordance with this regulation . further information about the reasons as well as possibilities for the content provider to contest the decision should be given upon request . where competent authorities decide that for reasons of public security including in the context of an investigation , it is considered inappropriate or counter - productive to directly notify the content provider of the removal or disabling of content , they should inform the hosting service provider . ### effective legal protection according to article 19 teu and article 47 of the charter of fundamental rights of the european union requires that persons are able to ascertain the reasons upon which the content uploaded by them has been removed . for that purpose , the hosting service provider should make available to the content provider meaningful information enabling the content provider to contest the decision . usually this requires a clear notification to the content provider . in exceptional circumstances , hosting service providers may replace content which is considered illegal terrorist content , first with a message that it has been removed in accordance with this regulation . further information about the reasons for the removal , as well as a copy of the removal order and information of the possibilities for the content provider to contest the decision before a court should be provided with the notification . where competent authorities decide that for reasons of public security including in the context of an investigation , when it is proportionate and necessary to do so , it is considered inappropriate or counter - productive to directly notify the content provider of the removal or disabling of content , they should inform the hosting service provider .


### this regulation aims at ensuring the smooth functioning of the digital single market in an open and democratic society , by preventing the misuse of hosting services for terrorist purposes . the functioning of the digital single market should be improved by reinforcing legal certainty for hosting service providers , reinforcing users ' trust in the online environment , and by strengthening safeguards to the freedom of expression and information . ### this regulation aims at ensuring the smooth functioning of the digital single market in an open and democratic society , by preventing the misuse of hosting services for terrorist purposes and providing a specific tool for countering such issues and helping to ensure freedom and security for citizens . the functioning of the digital single market should be improved by reinforcing legal certainty for hosting service providers , reinforcing users ' trust in the online environment , and by strengthening safeguards to the freedom of expression and information , and rights to privacy and protection of personal data , as well as freedom of the press and pluralism of the media .


### encouraging the contribution to terrorist offences ; ### promoting the activities of a terrorist group , in particular by inciting , soliciting or advocating persons or a group of persons to participate in the activities of a terrorist group , including by supplying information or material resources or by funding its activities in any way ;


### the information referred to in paragraph 1 shall specify the official language or languages of the union , as referred to in regulation 1 / 58 , in which the contact point can be addressed and in which further exchanges in relation to removal orders and referrals pursuant to articles 4 and 5 shall take place . this shall include at least one of the official languages of the member state in which the hosting service provider has its main establishment or where its legal representative pursuant to article 16 resides or is established . ### the information referred to in paragraph 1 shall specify the official language or languages of the union , as referred to in regulation 1 / 58 , in which the contact point can be addressed and in which further exchanges in relation to removal orders pursuant to article 4 shall take place . this shall include at least one of the official languages of the member state in which the hosting service provider has its main establishment or where its legal representative pursuant to article 16 resides or is established .


### ‘ dissemination of terrorist content’ means making terrorist content available to third parties on the hosting service providers’ services ; ### ‘ dissemination of illegal terrorist content’ means making illegal terrorist content available to third parties on the hosting service providers’ services ;


### the presence of terrorist content online has serious negative consequences for users , for citizens and society at large as well as for the online service providers hosting such content , since it undermines the trust of their users and damages their business models . in light of their central role and the technological means and capabilities associated with the services they provide , online service providers have particular societal responsibilities to protect their services from misuse by terrorists and to help tackle terrorist content disseminated through their services . ### the presence of terrorist content online has serious negative consequences for users , for citizens and society at large as well as for the online service providers hosting such content , since it undermines the trust of their users and damages their business models . in light of their central role and the technological means and capabilities associated with the services they provide , online service providers could support competent judicial authorities to protect their services from being used by terrorists and to help tackle terrorist content disseminated through their services .


### instructing on methods or techniques for the purpose of committing terrorist offences . ### intentionally instructs on the making or use of explosives , firearms or other weapons or noxious or hazardous substances , or on other specific methods or techniques , for the purposes of committing , or contributing to the commission of , terrorist offences .


### the procedure and obligations resulting from legal orders requesting hosting service providers to remove terrorist content or disable access to it , following an assessment by the competent authorities , should be harmonised . member states should remain free as to the choice of the competent authorities allowing them to designate administrative , law enforcement or judicial authorities with that task . given the speed at which terrorist content is disseminated across online services , this provision imposes obligations on hosting service providers to ensure that terrorist content identified in the removal order is removed or access to it is disabled within one hour from receiving the removal order . it is for the hosting service providers to decide whether to remove the content in question or disable access to the content for users in the union . ### the procedure and obligations resulting from legal removal orders requesting hosting service providers to remove illegal terrorist content , following an assessment by the competent authorities , should be harmonised . given the speed at which illegal terrorist content is disseminated across online services , this provision imposes obligations on hosting service providers to ensure that illegal terrorist content identified in the removal order is removed without undue delay after receiving the removal order .