Proposal for a Council Decision adopting a multiannual Community action plan on promoting safe use of the Internet (98/C 48/08) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(97) 582 final - 97/0337(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 27 November 1997)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130(3) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

(1) Whereas the Internet by developing into an industry offering services to the general public offers positive benefits in particular in education, by empowering citizens, lowering the barriers to the creation and distribution of content and offering wide access to even richer sources of digital information, as recognised by the Council and the representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council on 17 February (1);

(2) Whereas however, the amount of harmful and illegal content carried over the Internet, while limited, can seriously hamper the development of the emerging Internet industry and thus, adversely affect the set-up of the necessary favourable environment for initiatives and undertakings to flourish;

(3) Whereas it is essential, in order to ensure the full potential of the Internet industry, that a safe environment for its use be created by combating illegal use of the technical possibilities of the Internet in particular for offences against children (2);

(4) Whereas promotion of industry self-regulation and content-monitoring schemes, development of filtering tools and rating mechanisms provided by the industry and increased awareness of industry services as well as fostered international cooperation between all parties concerned will play a crucial role in consolidating that safe environment and will contribute to remove obstacles to the development and competitiveness of the concerned industry;

(5) Whereas the Council of Ministers requested the Commission on 24 April 1996 to produce a summary of problems by the rapid development of Internet, and to assess, in particular, the desirability of Community or international regulation;

(6) Whereas the Council requested a working party composed of all interested parties (Ministers of Telecommunications, access and service providers, content industries and users) to present concrete proposals for possible measures to combat illegal use of Internet or similar networks;

(7) Whereas this Working Party submitted its first report to the Council of 28 November 1996; whereas a second report, submitted to the Council on 27 June 1997, sets out the progress achieved in the Member States on measures to deal with illegal and harmful content and summarises activities since then in the EU institutions;

(8) whereas the Council and the Ministers for education within the Council in their meeting of 20 December 1996 adopted a declaration on protection of children and countering paedophilia;

(9) Whereas the Commission submitted to the Dublin European Council in December 1996 an updated version of the 'Europe's way to the information society` action plan in order to clarify the coherence of the various steps undertaken;

(10) Whereas the Commission transmitted on 23 October 1996 a communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on illegal and harmful content on the Internet (3) and a Green Paper on the protection of minors and human dignity in audiovisual and information services (4);

(11) Whereas the Council and the representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting with the Council in their resolution of 17 February 1997 welcomed the report of the Commission Working Party on illegal and harmful content on the Internet and requested Member States and the Commission to undertake a number of actions;

(12) Whereas the European Parliament in its resolution of 24 April 1997 called on the Member States to define a minimum number of common rules in their criminal law and to strengthen administrative cooperation on the basis of joint guidelines and called on the Commission to propose, after consulting the Parliament, a common framework for self-regulation at EU level and to submit proposals for a common regulation of liability for Internet content;

(13) Whereas in the Ministerial declaration adopted during the international ministerial conference entitled 'Global information networks: realising the potential`, held in Bonn on 6 to 8 July 1997 at the initiative of the German Government, Ministers stressed the role which the private sector can play in protecting the interests of consumers and in promoting and respecting ethical standards, through properly functioning systems of self-regulation in compliance with and supported by the legal system; whereas they encouraged industry to implement open, platform-independent content rating systems, and to propose rating services which meet the needs of different users and take account of Europe's cultural and linguistic diversity; whereas Ministers further recognised that it is crucial to build trust and confidence in global information networks by ensuring that basic human rights are respected and by safeguarding the interests of society in general, including producers and consumers;

(14) Whereas the Council adopted on . . . a recommendation concerning the protection of minors and human dignity in audiovisual and information services, whereas this action plan will be implemented in close coordination with the Council recommendation;

(15) Whereas special attention should continue to be paid by the Commission and Member States to coordination of the efforts of groups working in all the relevant fields;

(16) Whereas cooperation from the industry and a full functioning system of self-regulation are essential to limiting the flow of illegal content on the Internet;

(17) Whereas, to this effect, industry self-regulatory systems including representative bodies for Internet service providers, consumers and users, and effective codes of conduct should be encouraged and possibly hotline reporting mechanisms available to the public should be established; whereas European coordination of representative and self-regulating bodies is essential for the Europe-wide effectiveness of such systems;

(18) Whereas it is important to identify accurately the chain of responsibilities in order to place the liability for illegal content on those who create it; whereas it is inevitable to this effect to have at least common European, if not global, standards given that the Internet is by its nature cross-national, as underlined by the ministerial declaration adopted during the Bonn Conference (point 41 et seq.);

(19) Whereas, as emphasized by the Bonn Declaration (point 55 et seq.), it is necessary to promote on a European level the provision to users of filtering mechanisms and the setting-up of rating systems, for example the PICS (platform for Internet content selection) standard launched by the international Word-Wide-Web consortium with Community support;

(20) Whereas awareness activities should be encouraged so that users understand the opportunities as well as the drawbacks of the Internet in order to increase use of services provided by industry; whereas parents, educators and consumers, in particular, should be sufficiently informed so as to be able to take full advantage of parental control software and rating systems;

(21) Whereas it is essential to engage in international cooperation activities with international organisations and third countries for the purpose of implementing this action plan and extending its reach beyond the European Union, given the global character of the problems encountered in the Internet, requiring global solutions;

(22) Whereas supporting the creation of industry self-regulation mechanisms and the provision to users of filtering mechanisms and the setting-up of rating systems encourage an environment favourable to initiative and foster the development of undertakings throughout the Community; whereas increasing user awareness fosters better exploitation of the potential of the industrial potential of policies of innovation, research and technological development with regard to the Internet and similar global networks;

(23) Whereas any content policy actions must be complementary to other ongoing national and Community initiatives, as outlined notably in the Commission's action plan 'Europe's way to the information society: an action plan`, and shall be performed in synergy with other Community activities in the field such as the INFO 2000 programme (5), with Community research programmes (programmes concerned with advanced technology, technology, advanced communications services and telematics) and with Community education training, cultural and SME actions and initiatives, and with the Structural Funds;

(24) Whereas the activities under this action plan take account of the work accomplished in the field of justice and home affairs;

(25) Whereas the action plan 'Learning in the information society`, adopted by the Commission (6) on October 2 1996, is intended to promote the widespread use of electronic networks in schools;

(26) Whereas progress of this action plan should be continuously and systematically monitored with a view to adapting it, where appropriate, to developments in the audiovisual and multimedia content market; whereas in due course there should be an independent assessment of the progress of the action plan so as to provide the background information needed in order to determine the objectives for subsequent content policy actions; whereas at the end of this action plan there should be a final assessment of results obtained compared with the objectives set out in this Decision;

(27) Whereas, in conformity with the principle of subsidiarity as expressed in Article 3b of the Treaty, the objectives of the envisaged actions cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States due to the transnational character of the issues at stake and can, therefore, by reason of the pan-European effects of the action be better achieved by the Community;

(28) Whereas it is necessary to fix the duration of the action plan,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

1. The multiannual Community action plan on promoting safe use of the Internet ('the action plan`), as described in Annex I to this decision, is adopted.

2. The action plan shall cover a period of four years from 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2001.

Article 2

The action plan has the objective of encouraging an environment favourable to the development of the Internet industry by promoting safe use of the Internet.

Article 3

In order to attain the objective referred to in Article 2, the following actions shall be undertaken under the guidance of the Commission, in accordance with the action lines set out in Annex I and the means for implementing the action plan set out in Annex III:

- promotion of industry self-regulation and content-monitoring schemes (especially dealing with content such as child pornography, racism and anti-semitism),

- encouraging industry to provide filtering tools and rating mechanisms, which allow parents or teachers to select content appropriate for children in their care while allowing adults to decide what legal content they wish to access, and take account of linguistic and cultural diversity,

- increasing awareness of services provided by industry among users, in particular of parents, teachers and children, so that they can better understand and take advantage of the opportunities of the Internet,

- support actions such as assessment of legal implications,

- activities fostering international cooperation in the areas listed above,

- other action furthering the objective set out in Article 2.

Article 4

1. The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the action plan.

2. The procedure laid own in Article 5 shall apply to:

- the work programme,

- the breakdown of the budgetary expenditure,

- the criteria and content of calls for proposals,

- the measures for programme evaluation,

- any departure from the rules set out in Annex III,

- participation in any project by legal entities from third countries and international organisations.

Article 5

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee of an advisory nature composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.

2. The Commission representative shall submit to the committee a draft of measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter concerned, if necessary by taking a vote.

3. The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes.

4. The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the committee of the manner in which its opinions has been taken into account.

Article 6

1. In order to ensure that Community aid is used efficiently, the Commission shall ensure that actions under this Decision are subject to effective prior appraisal, monitoring and subsequent evaluation.

2. During implementation of projects and after their completion the Commission shall evaluate the manner in which they have been carried out and the impact of their implementation in order to assess whether the original objectives have been achieved.

3. The selected beneficiaries shall submit an annual report to the Commission.

4. At the end of two years and at the end of the action plan, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, once the committee referred to in Article 5 has examined it, an evaluation report on the results obtained in implementing the action lines referred to in Article 2. The Commission may present, on the basis of those results, proposals for adjusting the orientation of the action plan.

Article 7

Participation in this action plan may be open, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 5, to legal entities established in the EFTA countries which are member of the EEA and to European international organisations. Participation may be opened, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 5, and, as a general rule, without financial support by the Community from this action plan, to legal entities established in non-EEA third countries and to non-European international organisation, where such participation contributes effectively to the implementation of the action plan and taking into account the principle of mutual benefit.

Article 8

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

(1) OJ C 70, 6.3.1997, p. 1.

(2) COM(96) 487 final.

(3) COM(96) 483 final.

(4) Council Decision of 20 May 1996 adopting a multiannual Community programme to stimulate the development of a European content industry and to encourage the use of multimedia content in the emerging information society (OJ L 129, 30.5.1996, p. 24).

(5) COM(96) 471.

ANNEX I

ACTION LINES - ACTION PLAN ON PROMOTING SAFE USE OF THE INTERNET

The action lines, in conjunction with the proposal for a Council recommendation on protection of minors and human dignity, are a means of implementing a European approach to safe use of Internet, based on industry self-regulation, filtering and rating and awareness. Strong support has been expressed for this approach at the level of the European Parliament and of the Council and Member States, as well as in the wider European context of the Bonn Declaration agreed to by Ministers from 29 European countries.

The action lines have the following objectives:

- incite the actors (industry, users) to develop and implement adequate systems of self regulation,

- pump prime developments by supporting demonstrations and stimulating applications of technical solutions,

- alert and inform parents and teachers, in particular through their relevant associations,

- foster cooperation and exchange of experiences and best practices,

- promote coordination across Europe and between actors concerned,

- ensure compatibility between the approach taken in Europe and elsewhere.

1. CREATING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT

Cooperation from the industry and a fully functioning system of self-regulation are essential elements in limiting the flow of illegal content on the Internet.

1.1. Create a European network of hotlines

An effective way to restrict circulation of illegal material is to set up a European network of centres (known as hotlines) which allow users to report content which they come across in the course of their use of the Internet and which they consider to be illegal. Responsibility for prosecuting and punishing those responsible for illegal content remains with the national law-enforcement authorities, while the hotline aims at restricting circulation of illegal material. Differences in national legal systems and culture must also be respected.

So far, hotlines exist only in a limited number of Member States. Their creation needs to be stimulated so that there are hotlines operating covering the EU both geographically and linguistically. Mechanisms for exchange of information between the national hotlines, and between the European network and hotlines in third countries need to be put in place.

In order for this network to develop its full potential, it is necessary to improve cooperation between industry and law-enforcement authorities, ensure Europe-wide coverage and cooperation, and increase effectiveness through exchange of information and experience.

This action will take the form of a call for proposals for participating organisations (20 to 25) to establish a European network of hotlines, and links between this network and hotlines in third countries, develop common approaches and stimulate transfer of know-how and best practice.

The participating organisations will be supported by a cross-section of industry actors (access and service providers, telecoms operators, national hotline operators). They will have to demonstrate a forward-looking and innovative approach, in particular in their relationship with national law-enforcement authorities.

1.2. Encourage self-regulation and codes of conduct

For the industry to contribute effectively to restricting the flow of illegal and harmful content, it is also important to encourage enterprises to develop a self-regulatory framework through cooperation between them and the other parties concerned. The self-regulatory mechanism should provide a high level of protection and address questions of traceability.

In view of the transnational nature of communications networks, the effectiveness self-regulation measures will be strengthened, at European Union level, by coordination of national initiatives and of the bodies responsible for their implementation.

Under this action line, it is foreseen to develop guidelines at European level for codes of conduct, to build consensus for their application, and support their implementation. This action will be carried out through a call for tender to select organisations that can assist self-regulatory bodies to develop and implement codes of conduct. Measures will be taken to carefully monitor progress. This will be done in close coordination with the promotion of common guidelines for the implementation, at national level, of a self-regulation framework as advocated by the Council recommendation on protection of minors and human dignity.

2. DEVELOPING FILTERING AND RATING SYSTEMS

To promote safe use of the Internet, it is important to make content easier to identify. This can be done through a rating system which describes the content in accordance with a generally recognised scheme (for instance where items such as sex or violence are rated on a scale) and by filtering systems which empower the user to select the content he/she wishes to receive. Ratings may be attached by the content provider, or provided by a third party rating service. There are a number of filtering and rating schemes which are possible. However, their level of sophistication is still low and none have yet reached the 'critical mass` where users can be sure that content in which they are interested and content which they wish to avoid will be rated appropriately and that perfectly innocuous content will not be blocked. Uptake of rating systems by European content providers and users remains low.

The measures under this action line will focus on demonstrating the potential and the limitations of filtering and rating systems in a real world environment, with the objective of encouraging establishment of European systems and familiarising users with their use. Filtering and rating schemes must be internationally compatible and interoperable and developed with full cooperation or representatives of industry, consumers and users.

2.1. Demonstrate benefits of filtering and rating

Rating systems will be stimulated which are relevant to European requirements and which ensure that filtering and rating is implemented in a way which provides workable options in practice for users, parents and teachers. In order to build critical mass, a wide coverage of sites should be obtained. Action will therefore be taken to stimulate use of rating by content providers. Rating carried out by independent third parties ensures a standard approach to content rating and deals with cases where the content provider fails to rate properly. There is a need to meet specific requirements of business, institutional or educational users as well as those of end users not met by the content provider's rating system.

Following a call for proposals, projects will be selected to validate rating systems in relation to European content, to encourage integration of rating into the content creation process and to demonstrate benefits of these technical solutions. Emphasis will be placed on usefulness and practicality in 'real-world` situations involving a large cross-section of typical users.

A second call for proposals will particularly target the validation and demonstration of third-party rating systems.

In order to obtain maximum benefit from the demonstration projects, it is necessary to assess their impact and to ensure European-wide dissemination of their results. Evaluation of the demonstration projects and dissemination of their results will be the subject of a call for tenders.

The demonstration projects under this action line can make an important contribution to the awareness actions to be carried out under action line 3.

The demonstration projects will involve industry: self-regulatory bodies, industry (access and service providers, content providers, network operators, software houses), user, consumer and citizens rights groups and government bodies involved in industry regulation and law enforcement.

2.2. Facilitate international agreement on rating systems

International cooperation between operators and other concerned parties in the European Union and their partners in other regions of the world is particularly necessary in the field of rating, in order to ensure interoperability.

Work is already under way in a number of bodies dealing with protocols and with the design of a rating system to deal with the various requirements. It is essential that Europe's voice be heard in international discussions, and concertation meetings will be organised to ensure this.

3. ENCOURAGING AWARENESS ACTIONS

The public is increasingly engaging in Internet activity, reaping the benefits of the new services. At the same time there is a degree of uncertainty as to how to deal with every aspect of network communication; parents, teachers and children need to be made aware of potential of Internet and its drawbacks and to not always have sufficient knowledge about means to protect children from undesirable content. Awareness actions contribute to trust and confidence of parents and teachers in safe use of the Internet by children.

Awareness is also the necessary complement of action lines 1 and 2, since the actions of industry to implement self-regulation and filtering and rating will only bear fruit if users and potential users are aware of them.

The European Parliament has called for the implementation of a European campaign and an information and awareness action programme, to be funded by the EU budget, to inform parents and all people dealing with children (teachers, social workers, etc.) on the best way (including technical aspects) to protect minors against exposure to content that could be harmful to their development, so as to ensure their well-being.

European action will create a framework for synergy with action at level of member States, and will strenghten initiatives in Member States through exchange of information and experience. The action plan will initiate awareness actions that will build on the dissemination of information from access providers to customers and develop material for use in educational institutions.

Electronic distribution of material should be supplemented by more widespread traditional packages for use in schools and libraries. The awareness initiatives will take advantage of the awareness actions carried out under other programmes, in particular the MIDAS-NET established under INFO 2000.

This action will be carried out in two stages. In the first stage the best means of achieving the objectives will be identified and in the second stage multiplier organisations in the Member States - such as consumer bodies and other relevant associations - will be assisted to implement actions nationally.

3.1. Prepare the ground for awareness actions

In the first phase, a call for proposals will be launched for a preparatory action will identify multiplier organisations and most appropriate channels, media and content to reach the target audience, prepare basic material, adapt it for linguistic and cultural specificities and take account of results of demonstration projects under action line 2.1, which will make an important contribution to the content of awareness actions. An implementation plan will be prepared.

The target audience are parents, teachers and the action will involve industry (Internet service providers, content providers) and multipliers, e.g. consumer associations, education organisations.

3.2. Encourage implementation of full-scale awareness actions

A second call for proposals will select initiatives for Community support for follow-up action in all Member States using the multiplier organisations and the channels, media and content identified in the preparatory action. The purpose of the action is to make adults (parents and teachers) aware of the potential and the drawbacks of the Internet, and of the means to identify useful content and how to block harmful content.

Actions will be appropriate for the needs of Member States, and may differ according to their size, population, degree of Internet use, etc. Actions will be of two types: those focused on teachers and educational institutions, and those with a broader focus aimed at the general public (parents and children).

Actions aimed at teachers will include seminars and workshops and preparation and distribution of specific printed and multimedia material to a large cross-section of members of the profession. Special netdays - a series of special events aimed at increasing user awareness - will be organised in collaboration with the Learning in the information society action plan, which has wide support from industry. Typical actions aimed at the general public would include: creation of web-sites, distribution of information material in schools, through access providers and through shops and other outlets selling computers, distribution of CD-ROMs in computer magazines. More specific information would be given when targeting families already own a computer. Traditional media (press, television) would also be used to stimulate awareness through publicity campaigns and information packs for journalists. Using the platform of the European network of schools, which is being set up which the support of the education ministries of Member States, special web-pages will be created and maintained.

The purpose of the Community support is to pump-prime large-scale awareness actions and to provide overall coordination and exchange of experience so that lessons can be drawn from the results of the action on an ongoing basis (for instance by adapting the material distributed). Community funding will in general not exceed one third of eligible costs. The use of existing networks will permit cost-saving, but additional financing is required to produce the relevant content.

4. SUPPORT ACTIONS

4.1. Assess legal implications

The Internet operates on a global basis. The law operates on a territorial basis - national or in the case of Community law, covering the European Union. It will contribute to the effectiveness of the other action lines to consider legal questions not dealt with by other Community initiatives, in particular including questions of applicable law and procedure.

A call for tenders will be organised for an assessment of legal questions raised by the content or the use of Internet.

4.2. Coordinate with similar international initiatives

The Council recommendation on protection of minors and human in audiovisual and information services calls on the Commission to promote international cooperation in the various fields covered by this recommendation, particularly through the sharing of experience and good practices between operators and other concerned parties in the European Union and their partners in other regions of the world. Therefore it is necessary to ensure coherence between European action and similar initiatives in other parts of the world. Regular concertation meetings will help to achieve this.

An international conference will allow the experience gained through the action lines to be shared with actors concerned both in Europe and more widely. This would deal with all of the issues addressed by the action plan and bring together industry (access and service providers, content providers, network operators, software houses), user, consumer and citizens rights groups and government bodies involved in industry regulation and law enforcement. Such a conference can also be instrumental in disseminating the results of the action plan.

4.3. Evaluate impact of Community measures

It is obviously important to make an in-depth evaluation whether the objectives of the action plan and the recommendation have been achieved. Also possible further measures which should be taken by industry, Community institutions, Member States or consumer representatives, could be identified that way. The evaluation foreseen will be done in liaison with evaluating the measures taken to protect minors and human dignity foreseen by the Council recommendation on protection of minors and human dignity in audiovisual and information services, and will be launched through a call for tenders.

ANNEX II

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ANNEX III

THE MEANS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE ACTION PLAN

1. The Commission will implement the action plan in accordance with the technical content specified in Annex I.

2. The action plan will be performed through indirect action and wherever possible on a shared-cost basis.

3. The selection of shared-cost projects will normally be based on the usual procedure of calls for proposals published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. The content of the calls for proposals will be defined in close consultation with the relevant experts and according to the procedures referred to in the Decision. The main criterion for supporting projects through calls for proposals will be their potential contribution to achieving the objectives of the action plan.

4. Applications for Community support should provide, where appropriate, a financial plan listing all the components of the funding of the projects, including the financial support requested from the Community, and any other requests for or grants of support from other sources.

5. The Commission may also implement a more flexible funding scheme than the call for proposals in order to provide incentives for the creation of partnerships, in particular involving SMEs and organisations in less favoured regions, and for the establishment of long-term measures against illegal and harmful content on Internet. This scheme might be operated on a permanent basis.

6. The Commission will make provision for considering in exceptional cases unsolicited project proposals which involve a particularly urgent measure following technological changes that call for change of action.

7. The detailed arrangements for the procedures referred to under points 5 and 6 will be implemented through the advisory committee procedure (type I) and in accordance with the Commission's financial regulations. They will be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

8. Projects fully financed by the Commission within the framework of study and services contracts will be implemented through calls for tenders in accordance with the financial provisions in force. Transparency will be achieved by consulting external groups of experts (the Internet Working Party and the Legal Advisory Board) as well as actively using the information services of the Commission in connection with the awareness measures.

9. In the course of the action plan, the Commission will also undertake preparatory, accompanying and support activities designed to achieve the general objectives of the action plan and the specific aims of each action line. This includes activities such as: studies in support of the general goals of the action plan; preliminary actions in preparation of future activities; measures aimed at facilitating participation in measures under the action plan as well as facilitating access to the results produced by action plan initiatives.

10. All projects receiving financial support will be required to display an acknowledgment of the support received.