COMMON POSITION (EC) No 56/98 adopted by the Council on 24 September 1998 with a view to adopting Decision No .../98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council adopting a multiannual Community action plan on promoting safer use of the Internet by combating illegal and harmful content on global networks
Date: 1998-09-24
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU action, action programme, information network, public safety, selective dissemination of information, transmission network

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COMMON  POSITION  (EC)  No  56/98

adopted  by  the  Council  on  24  September  1998

with a view to adopting Decision No . . ./98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
adopting  a  multiannual  Community  action  plan  on  promoting  safer  use  of  the  Internet  by
combating  illegal  and  harmful  content  on  global  networks

(98/C 360/03)

THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  COUNCIL  OF
THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European
Community,  and  in  particular  Article  129a(2),

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  from  the  Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

Having  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  Committee  of  the
Regions (3),

Acting  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in
Article  189b  of  the  Treaty (4),

to 

the  barriers 

(1) Whereas  the  Internet  offers  positive  benefits  in
particular  in  education,  by  empowering  consumers,
lowering 
the  creation  and
distribution  of  content  and  offering  wide  access  to
information,  as
even  richer  sources  of  digital 
recognised  by  the  Council  and  the  representatives
of the Governments of the Member States, meeting
within  the  Council  on  17  February  1997  in  their
resolution  on  illegal  and  harmful  content  on  the
Internet (5);

(2) Whereas,  however,  the  amount  of  harmful  and
illegal  content  carried  over  the  Internet,  while
limited,  could  adversely  affect  the  establishment  of
the necessary favourable environment for initiatives
and  undertakings  to  flourish;

(3) Whereas  it  is  essential,  in  order  to  ensure  that
consumers  make  full  use  of  the  Internet,  that  a

(1) OJ  C  48,  13.2.1998,  p.  8.
(2) Opinion  delivered  on  29  April  1998  (OJ  C  214,  10.7.1998,

p.  29).

(3) Not  yet  published  in  the  Official  Journal.
(4) Opinion  of  the  European  Parliament  of  2  July  1998  (OJ
C  226,  20.7.1998,  p.  33),  Council  Common  Position  of
24 September 1998 and Decision of the European Parliament
of  . . .  (not  yet  published  in  the  Official  Journal).

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

for 

its  use 

safer  environment 
is  created  by
combating  illegal  use  of  the  technical  possibilities
of  the  Internet  in  particular  for  offences  against
children  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  or  for
the  dissemination  of  racist  and  xenophobic  ideas;

(4) Whereas consumers should be afforded a high level
of  protection;  whereas  the  Community  should
contribute thereto by specific action which supports
and supplements the policy pursued by the Member
States  regarding  information  for  consumers  on  the
safer  use  of  the  Internet;

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

as  well 

fostering 

as 

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

(7) Whereas  on  23  October  1996  the  Commission
transmitted  a  communiction  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  and  a
Green  Paper  on  the  protection  of  minors  and
human  dignity  in  audiovisual  and  information
services;

(8) Whereas  the  Council  and  the  representatives  of  the
Governments of the Member States, meeting within
the Council, in their abovementioned Resolution of
17  February  1997  welcomed  the  report  of  the

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Commission  working  party  on  illegal  and  harmful
content  on  the  Internet  and  requested  Member
States  and  the  Commission  to  undertake  a  number
of  actions;

(9) Whereas,  in  its  resolution  of  24  April  1997  on  the
Commission communication on illegal and harmful
content on the Internet (1), the European Parliament
to  strengthen
called  on 
administrative  cooperation  on  the  basis  of  joint
guidelines and on the Commission to propose, after
consulting  the  European  Parliament,  a  common
framework  for  self-regulation  at  European  Union
level;

the  Member  States 

(10) 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
linguistic  diversity;
of  Europe’s  cultural  and 
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;

(11) Whereas  on  24  September  1998  the  Council
adopted  a  recommendation  on  the  development  of
the  competitiveness  of  the  European  audiovisual
and  information  services  industry  by  promoting
national 
frameworks  aimed  at  achieving  a
comparable  and  effective  level  of  protection  of
minors and human dignity (2) hereinafter designated
recommendation  on  the  protection  of  minors  and
human  dignity;  whereas  this  action  plan  will  be
implemented in close coordination with the Council
recommendation;

(12) Whereas  cooperation  from  the  industry  in  setting
up  voluntary 
self-regulation  can
systems  of 
efficiently  help  to  limit  the  flow  of  illegal  content
on  the  Internet;

(1) OJ  C  150,  19.5.1997,  p.  38.
(2) OJ  L  270,  7.10.1998,  p.  48.

(13) Whereas  European  coordination  of  representative
and  self-regulating  bodies 
is  essential  for  the
Europe-wide effectiveness of such systems; 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  within  the
regulatory framework in force; if necessary hot-line
reporting  mechanisms  which  allow  users  to  report
content which they consider illegal should be made
available  to  the  public;

(14) Whereas  any  hot-line  reporting  mechanisms  should
support  and  promote  measures  taken  by  the
Member  States;  whereas  duplication  of  work
should  be  avoided;  whereas  possible  hot-line
reporting  mechanisms  could  be  established 
in
cooperation  with  the  law-enforcement  authorities
of  the  Member  States;  whereas  the  responsibility
for prosecuting and punishing those responsible for
illegal  content  should  remain  with  the  national
law-enforcement  authorities;

(15) Whereas  it  is  necessary  to  promote  on  a  European
level  the  provision  to  consumers  of  filtering  tools
and  the  setting  up  of  rating  systems,  for  example
the  platform  for  Internet  content  selection  (PICS)
standard  launched  by  the  international  worldwide
web  consortium  with  Community  support;

(16) Whereas  awareness  activities  which  are  performed
in  the  Member  States  and  which  should  have  an
additional European value should be encouraged so
that  users  understand  not  only  the  opportunities
but  also  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;  whereas  there  should
be  a  multiannual  action  plan  on  promoting  safer
use  of  the  Internet  (‘action  plan’);

(17) Whereas  it  is  essential  to  engage  in  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  on  the  Internet,  requiring
global  solutions;

(18) Whereas  any  content  policy  actions 

should
to  ongoing  national  and

be  complementary 

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Community  initiatives,  as  outlined  notably  in  the
Commission’s  action  plan  ‘Europe’s  way  to  the
information society: an action plan’, and should be
performed 
in  synergy  with  other  Community
activities  in  the  field  such  as  the  INFO  2000
programme (1), 
research
programmes 
concerned  with
advanced  technology,  advanced  communications
services  and  telematics)  and  with  Community
education,  training,  cultural  and  SME  actions  and
initiatives,  and  with  the  Structural  Funds;

(programmes 

Community 

with 

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

(20) Whereas  the  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;

(21) Whereas, 

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

(22) Whereas  this  action  plan  should  be  of  four  years
duration  in  order  to  allow  sufficient  time  for
actions to be implemented to achieve the objectives
set;

(23) Whereas  this  Decision  lays  down,  for  the  entire
duration  of  the  action  plan,  a  financial  framework
constituting  the  principal  point  of  reference,  within
the  meaning  of  point  1  of  the  Declaration  by
the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the
Commission of 6 March 1995 (2), for the budgetary
authority  during  the  annual  budgetary  procedure,

HAVE  ADOPTED  THIS  DECISION:

Article  1

1.
The  multiannual  Community  action  plan  on
promoting safer use of the Internet (‘the action plan’), as
described  in  Annex  I,  is  hereby  adopted.

The  action  plan  shall  cover  a  period  of  four  years

2.
from  1  January  1998  to  31  December  2001.

3.
The  financial  framework  for  the  implementation  of
the  action  plan  for  the  period  from  1  January  1998  to
31  December  2001  is  hereby  set  at  ECU  25  million.

The  annual  appropriations  shall  be  authorised  by  the
budgetary  authority  within  the  limits  of  the  financial
perspective.

An  indicative  breakdown  of  expenditure  is  given  in
Annex  II.

Article  2

The  action  plan  has  the  objective  of  promoting  safer  use
of  the  Internet  and  of  encouraging,  at  European  level,
an  environment  favourable  to  the  development  of  the
Internet  industry.

Article  3

In  order  to  attain  the  objective  referred  to  in  Article  2,
the following actions supporting and promoting measures
to  be  taken  in  the  Member  States  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 
(for  example,  dealing  with
content  such  as  child  pornography  or  content  which
incites  hatred  on  grounds  of  race,  sex,  religion,
nationality  or  ethnic  origin),

(1) Council  Decision  96/339/EC  of  20  May  1996  adopting
a  multiannual  Community  programme  to  stimulate  the
development of a European multimedia content industry and
to  encourage  the  use  of  multimedia  content  in  the  emerging
information  society  (INFO  2000)  (OJ  L  129,  30.5.1996,
p.  24).

(2) OJ  C  102,  4.4.1996,  p.  4.

— encouraging  industry  to  provide  filtering  tools  and
rating  systems,  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  which  take  account  of
linguistic  and  cultural  diversity,

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

— support  actions 
implications,

such  as  assessment  of 

legal

— activities  fostering  international  cooperation  in  the

areas  enumerated  above,

— other  actions  furthering  the  objective  set  out  in

Article  2.

Article  4

Article  5

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

The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
committee  a  draft  of  the  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.  The  opinion  shall  be
delivered  by  the  majority  laid  down  in  Article  148(2)  of
the  Treaty  in  the  case  of  decisions  which  the  Council  is
required  to  adopt  on  a  proposal  from  the  Commission.
The  votes  of  the  representatives  of  the  Member  States
within the committee shall be weighted in the manner set
out  in  that  Article.  The  chairman  shall  not  vote.

The  Commission  shall  be  responsible  for  the

1.
implementation  of  the  action  plan.

The  Commission  shall  adopt  the  measures  envisaged
if  they  are  in  accordance  with  the  opinion  of  the
committee.

The  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  5  shall  apply

2.
to:

— the  work  programme  including  any  expenditure  on

activities  described  in  Annex  III,  point  9,

— the  breakdown  of  the  budgetary  expenditure,

— the  criteria  and  content  of  calls  for  proposals,

— the  assessment  of  the  projects  proposed  under  calls
for  proposals  for  Community  funding  and  the
estimated amount of the Community contribution for
each project where this is equal to or more than ECU
300 000,

— the  measures  for  programme  evaluation,

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

— participation  in  any  project  by  legal  entities  from
international  organisations

countries  and 

third 
referred  to  in  Article  7(3),

— other  actions  which  could  be  undertaken  under  the

terms  of  the  last  indent  of  Article  3.

the 

3. Where,  pursuant 
indent  of
to 
paragraph 2, the amount of the Community contribution
is  less  than  ECU  300 000,  the  Commission  shall  inform
the committee referred to in Article 5 of the projects and
of  the  outcome  of  their  assessment.

fourth 

The  Commission 

4.
the
shall 
committee  referred  to  in  Article  5  of  progress  with  the
implementation  of  the  programme  as  a  whole.

regularly 

inform 

If  the  measures  envisaged  are  not  in  accordance  with  the
opinion  of  the  committee,  or  if  no  opinion  is  delivered,
the  Commission  shall  without  delay  submit  to  the
Council  a  proposal  relating  to  the  measures  to  be  taken.
The  Council  shall  act  by  a  qualified  majority.

If,  on  the  expiry  of  a  period  of  three  months  from
the  date  of  referral  to  the  Council,  the  Council  has  not
acted,  the  proposed  measures  shall  be  adopted  by  the
Commission.

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.

The  selected  beneficiaries  shall  submit  an  annual

3.
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

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evaluation report on the results obtained in implementing
the action lines set out in Annex I. Reference shall also be
made  to  general  findings  applicable  to  all  categories  of
illegal  content.  The  Commission  may  present,  on  the
basis  of  those  results,  proposals  for  adjusting  the
orientation  of  the  action  plan.

Article  7

1.
Participation  in  this  action  plan  may  be  opened  to
legal  entities  established  in  EFTA  States  which  are
members  of  the  European  Economic  Area  (EEA)  in
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Agreement  on  the
EEA.

Participation  may  be  opened  to 

2.
legal  entities
established  in  associated  Central  and  Eastern  European
countries  in  accordance  with  the  conditions,  including
in  the  additional
financial  arrangements,  agreed  to 
protocols 
including
participation  in  Community  programmes.

the  association  Agreements, 

to 

accordance  with  the  same  rules  as  those  applied  to  the
EFTA States that are members of the EEA, in accordance
with  procedures  to  be  agreed  on  with  that  country.

3.
Participation  may  be  opened,  in  accordance  with
the  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  5,  without  financial
support  by  the  Community  under  this  action  plan,  to
legal  entities  established  in  other  third  countries  and  to
international  organisations,  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.

Done  at  . . .,  . . .

Participation  may  be  opened  to  legal  entities  established
in  Cyprus  on  the  basis  of  additional  appropriations  in

For  the  European  Parliament

For  the  Council

The  President

The  President

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ANNEX  I

MULTIANNUAL  COMMUNITY  ACTION  PLAN  ON  PROMOTING  SAFER  USE  OF
THE  INTERNET

Action  lines

The action lines, in conjunction with the recommendation on protection of minors and human dignity, are a
means of implementing a European approach to safer use of the 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  States.

The  action  lines  have  the  following  objectives:

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

— to  pump  prime  developments  by  supporting  demonstrations  and  stimulating  application  of  technical

solutions,

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

— to  foster  cooperation  and  exchange  of  experiences  and  best  practices  at  European  and  international

levels,

— to  promote  coordination  across  Europe  and  between  actors  concerned,

— to  ensure  compatibility  between  the  approach  taken  in  Europe  and  elsewhere.

1.

Action  line  1:  Creating  a  safer  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. C r e a t i n g   a   E u r o p e a n   n e t w o r k   o f   h o t l i n e s

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  revealing  the  existence  of  illegal  material  with  a  view  to  restricting  its  circulation.
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  Union  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)  and  users.  They  will  have  to
demonstrate  a  forward-looking  and  innovative  approach,  in  particular  in  their  relationship  with
national  law-enforcement  authorities.

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1.2. E n c o u r a g i n g   s e l f - r e g u l a t i o n   a n d   c o d e s   o f   c o n d u c t

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  of  self-regulation
measures  will  be  strengthened,  at  European  Union  level,  by  coordination  of  national  initiatives
between  the  bodies  responsible  for  their  implementation.

Under  this  action  line,  guidelines  at  European  level  will  be  developed  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 in developing and
implementing  codes  of  conduct.  Measures  will  be  taken  carefully  to  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.

Action  line  2:  Developing  filtering  and  rating  systems

To  promote  safer  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  possible  filtering
and  rating  systems.  However,  their  level  of  sophistication  is  still  low  and  none  has  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  the
establishment of European systems and familiarising users with their use. Filtering and rating systems
must  be  internationally  compatible  and  interoperable  and  developed  with  the  full  cooperation  of
representatives  of  industry,  consumers  and  users.

2.1. D e m o n s t r a t i n g   t h e   b e n e f i t s   o f   f i l t e r i n g   a n d   r a t i n g

Rating  systems  will  be  stimulated  which  should  be  internationally  compatible  and  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.  This  could  also
include  tests  as  to  the  secureness  of  filtering  software  against  attempts  to  bypass  or  deactivate  it.

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.

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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,  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. F a c i l i t a t i n g   i n t e r n a t i o n a l   a g r e e m e n t   o n   r a t i n g   s y s t e m s

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.

Action  line  3:  Encouraging  awareness  actions

The public is increasingly engaging in Internet activity and 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 the potential of the Internet
and  its  drawbacks  and  do  not  always  have  sufficient  knowledge  about  the  means  to  protect  children
from  undesirable  content.  Awareness  actions  contribute  to  the  trust  and  confidence  of  parents  and
teachers  in  safer  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  bear  fruit  only  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 European Union 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,  on  the  basis  of  actions  undertaken  by  the  Member  States,  will  contribute  to
reinforcement  of  synergy,  in  particular  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  also  develop  material  for  use  in  the  education  sector.

Electronic  distribution  of  material  should  be  supplemented  by  more  widespread  traditional  packages
for  use  in  the  education  sector  and  in  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. P r e p a r i n g   t h e   g r o u n d   f o r   a w a r e n e s s   a c t i o n s

In  the  first  phase  a  call  for  proposals  will  be  launched  for  a  preparatory  action  which  will  identify
multiplier  organisations  and  the  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
the  results  of  demonstration  projects  under  action  line  2,  which  will  make  an  important  contribution
to  the  content  of  awareness  actions.  An  implementation  plan  will  be  prepared.

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

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3.2. E n c o u r a g i n g   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f   f u l l - s c a l e   a w a r e n e s s   a c t i o n s

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 the
education  sector  and  those  with  a  broader  focus  aimed  at  the  general  public  (parents  and  children).

Actions  aimed  at  teachers  could  include  seminars  and  workshops  and  preparation  of  specific  printed
and multimedia material for distribution to a large cross-section of members of the profession. Special
netdays  (a  series  of  special  events  aimed  at  increasing  user  awareness)  can  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  and
distribution of information material in schools, through access providers and through shops and other
in  computer  magazines.  More  specific
outlets  selling  computers,  distribution  of  CD-ROMs 
information  would  be  given  when  targeting  families  already  owning  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 with 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.

Action  line  4:  Support  actions

4.1. A s s e s s i n g   l e g a l   i m p l i c a t i o n s

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  by  considering  legal  questions  not  dealt  with  by  other  Community  initiatives,  in
particular  including  questions  of  applicable  law  and  procedure.

If  necessary,  a  call  for  tenders  could  be  organised  for  an  assessment  of  legal  questions  raised  by  the
content  or  the  use  of  Internet,  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  5.

4.2. C o o r d i n a t i o n   w i t h   s i m i l a r   i n t e r n a t i o n a l   i n i t i a t i v e s

The recommendation on protection of minors and human dignity calls on the Commission to promote
international  cooperation  in  the  various  fields  covered  by  that  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.  It  is  therefore  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,  agreed  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  5,  might
allow  the  experience  gained  through  the  action  lines  to  be  shared  with  actors  concerned  both  in
Europe and more widely. This could deal with all of the issues addressed by the action plan and bring
together  industry  (self-regulatory  bodies,  access  and  service  providers,  content  providers,  network
operators,  software  houses),  user,  consumer  and  citizens  rights  groups  and  government  bodies

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involved in industry regulation and law-enforcement. Such a conference could also be instrumental in
disseminating  the  results  of  the  action  plan.

The  conference  would  build  on  the  results  of  other  conferences  on  related  themes  and  thus  avoid
duplication  of  efforts.

The  Commission  will  consult  the  committee  referred  to  in  Article  5  before  organising  such  a
conference.

4.3. E v a l u a t i n g   t h e   i m p a c t   o f   C o m m u n i t y   m e a s u r e s

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

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ANNEX  II

INDICATIVE  BREAKDOWN  OF  EXPENDITURE

1. Creating  a  safer  environment

2. Developing  filtering  and  rating  systems

3. Encouraging  awareness  actions

4. Support  actions

Total:

26  to  30 %

32  to  38 %

30  to  36 %

3  to  5 %

100 %

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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.  The  Community’s  financial  contribution  should  not  exceed  the  minimum  considered  necessary
for  a  project  and  shall  be  granted,  in  principle,  only  if  the  project  meets  financial  obstacles  which
cannot otherwise be overcome. In addition, the Community’s financial contribution shall not normally
exceed  50 %  of  the  cost  of  the  project,  except  in  duly  justified  cases.

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  funding  scheme  more  flexible  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  the  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 in
accordance  with  Article  5  of  this  Decision  and  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.  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 acknowledgement of the support

received.

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COUNCIL’S  EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM

I.

INTRODUCTION

1. On 28 November 1997 the Commission submitted the abovementioned proposal to the
Council  adopting  a  multiannual  Community  action  plan  on  promoting  the  safe  use  of
the  Internet.  That  proposal  for  a  Decision,  based  on  Article  130(3)  of  the  EC  Treaty,
was  accompanied  by  a  communication  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions.

2. The  European  Parliament  delivered  its  opinion  on  2  July  1998.

The  Economic  and  Social  Committee  delivered  its  opinion  on  29  April  1998  and  the
Committee  of  the  Regions  delivered  its  opinion  on  14  May  1998.

3. The  Council,  in  view  of  the  amendment  made  to  the  legal  basis  (see  Part  III,  point  1),
adopted on 24 September 1998 a common position in accordance with Article 189b of
the  Treaty.

II. OBJECTIVE

The  Commission  proposes  a  Community  action  plan  lasting  four  years,  favourable  to  the
development of the Internet industry by promoting safe use of the Internet. It is specifically
aimed  at  actions  where  financial  support  from  the  Community  is  necessary  and  comprises
four  action  lines,  namely  creating  a  safe  environment,  developing  of  filtering  and  rating
systems,  encouraging  awareness  actions  and  taking  support  measures.

III. ANALYSIS  OF  THE  COMMON  POSITION

1. GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS

The  Council  welcomed  this  Commission  initiative  and  broadly  endorsed  the  text
submitted.

The Council considered, however, that the content of the proposal was intended largely
to  provide  adequate  information  for  consumers  regarding  the  Internet,  rather  than  to
promote  the  development  of  Internet  industry,  the  latter  objective  being  in  its  view  of
secondary importance. The Council therefore considered that Article 129a(2) of the EC
Treaty was the appropriate legal basis for the proposal and not Article 130(3) of the EC
Treaty,  proposed  by  the  Commission.  This  would  mean  recourse  to  the  co-decision
procedure.

In the process of setting out its common position, the Council also found it necessary to
make  a  few  amendments  to  the  Commission  proposal.  It  was  moved  by  the  following
concerns:

— to ensure that the text, in particular the preamble, was consistent with the new legal

basis,

— to  make  certain  provisions  clearer  or  to  improve  the  drafting  quality  of  the  text,

— to  improve  monitoring  and  assessment  of  the  actions  undertaken,  especially  as

regards  the  effectiveness  of  Community  aid.

Lastly, the text of the common position quotes, in full or in part, 10 of the amendments
voted  by  the  European  Parliament.

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2. SPECIFIC  OBSERVATIONS

(Unless  otherwise  specified,  references  are  to  the  text  of  the  common  position)

(i) The  Council  inserted  in  its  common  position  the  following  main  amendments  to

the  Commission  proposal,  to  which  the  Commission  could  agree:

Title

In the context of the change of legal basis, the title of the Decision was made more
specific,  stating  that  the  action  plan  was  ‘a  safer  use  of  the  Internet  by  combating
illegal  and  harmful  content  on  global  networks’.

Preamble

In  line  with  the  new  legal  basis,  recitals  1,  2,  3,  22  and  28  were  amended  and
recitals  4  and  23  were  added.

Recitals 6 to 9, 15 and 25 of the Commission proposal were deleted in an effort to
simplify  the  text.  Those  recitals  in  the  main  described  in  very  great  detail  the
history  of  the  question  or  overlapped  with  other  material.  Recital  12  of  the
Commission  proposal,  whose  scope  exceeded  that  of  the  action  plan,  was  also
simplified.

Article  1

In  view  of  the  new  legal  basis,  the  Council  inserted  in  a  new  paragraph  3  a
financial  provision 
in  accordance  with  the  Declaration  by  the  European
Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  of  6  March  1995.  An  explicit
reference  was  also  added  to  the 
in
Annex  II.

indicative  breakdown  of  expenditure 

Article  2

The  Council  considered  that  this  Article  should  be  redrafted  in  a  manner  more  in
conformity  with  the  content  of  the  Decision,  highlighting  the  main  objective,  i.e.
promotion  of  a  safer  use  of  the  Internet.

Article  3

The  text  of  the  common  position  states  that  the  Community  actions  plan  were
designed  to  support  and  promote  the  measures  to  be  taken  by  the  Member
States.

Article  4

Cases  in  which  the  committee  responsible  for  assisting  the  Commission  should
intervene  were  specified  in  the  first  and  seventh  indents.  New  tasks  were  also
planned.  In  fact,  a  new  fourth  indent  provides  that  the  committee  also  intervenes
to assess projects and the estimated amount of the Community contribution when
that  is  equal  to  or  exceeds  ECU  300 000.  A  new  last  indent  also  provides  for  its
intervention  for  ‘the  other  actions’  contemplated  but  not  specified  in  Article  3.

The  new  paragraphs  3  and  4  were  added  to  specify  the  obligations  on  the
Commission  to  keep  the  committee  informed.

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Article  5

The  Council  considered  that  a  committee  operating  according  to  a  type  IIIA
procedure  would  be  more  appropriate  for  such  a  decision  than  a  committee  of  a
consultative  nature,  as  provided  for  by  the  Commission.

Article  7

Regarding  participation  by  third  parties,  the  text  of  the  common  position
distinguishes more clearly between the various categories of country concerned, i.e.
the  EFTA  countries  which  are  members  of  the  European  Economic  Area,  the
associated countries of central and eastern Europe, Cyprus and third countries and
the  international  organisations.

Annex  I

The  common  position  contains  certain  clarifications  or  minor  amendments  to  the
text  proposed  by  the  Commission,  in  particular  as  regards  points  1.1  (network  of
hotlines),  2.1  (demonstrating  benefits  of  filtering  and  rating),  3  (encouraging
awareness  actions),  4.1 
(coordination  with
international initiatives).

implications)  and  4.2 

(legal 

Annex  II

The  Council  wanted  to  strengthen  the  line  of  action  on  ‘creating  a  safe
environment’.  For  this  purpose  it  increased  to  26  to  30 %  the  indicative  share  of
expenditure  to  be  allocated  to  this  line  (instead  of  14  to  18 %  as  planned  by  the
Commission),  cutting  the  other  three  lines  accordingly.

Annex  III

Paragraph  2  was  developed  so  as  to  stress  the  complementary  nature  of  the
Community  financial  contribution  and  so  as  to  specify  its  limits.

Paragraph  7  was  amended  in  line  with  the  committee  procedure  adopted  by  the
Council.

(ii) As  for  the  amendments  proposed  by  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council

followed  the  Commission’s  position  in  50 %  of  cases:

— adopting  in  its  common  position  the  following  Amendments,  sometimes  with

certain  minor  drafting  changes:

1,  2,  5,  6,  (Part  1),  9,  10,  (Part  1),  15,  16,  19  and  20,

— not  adopting  Amendments  7,  12  and  17.

(iii) The  Council,  however,  was  not  able  to  follow  the  Commission  in  respect  of  the

following  amendments  proposed  by  the  European  Parliament:

Amendment  3  (recital  2)

As  mentioned  above,  the  Council  fully  shares  the  objective  pursued  by  this
amendment,  which  sets  out  to  highlight  the  main  objective  of  the  action  plan,  i.e.
consumer  protection.  The  Council  preferred,  however,  to  adopt  a  simplified  text
on  the  basis  of  the  Commission  proposal  so  as  to  meet  more  closely  the  drafting
quality  standards  for  Community  legislation.

C 360/98

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

23.11.98

Amendments  4  and  11  (preamble  and  Article  3,  first  indent)

The  Council  considered  that  these  two  amendments  could  raise  doubts  regarding
the  exact  scope  of  the  action.

Amendment  6,  second  part  (recital  12)

The  Council  was  not  able  to  adopt  the  second  part  of  the  amendment,  which  did
not  appear  to  correspond  to  any  of  the  Decision’s  provisions.

Amendments  8  and  14  (new  recital  and  Article  5)

In connection with the committee procedure, Amendment 8 refers to an agreement
to  which  the  Council  is  not  a  party,  and  Amendment  14  is  superfluous  in  the
common  position  in  that  it  does  not  provide  for  the  consultative  committee
proposed  by  the  Commission.

Amendment  10,  second  part  (Article  2)

The Council did not adopt the second part of this amendment, on the grounds that
it  would  make  the  purpose  pursued  less  clear  to  the  reader,  whereas  the  concern
underlying  the  addition  was  already  adequately  covered  by  recital  18.

Amendment  13  (Article  13)

The purpose of this amendment is to add extremely specific actions. However, they
do  not  fit  properly  into  the  current  structure  of  the  Decision.  Article  3  broadly
covers  the  actions  envisaged,  which  are  detailed  in  Annex  I.

Amendment  18  (Annex  I,  point  2,  second  paragraph)

The  text  of  the  Commission’s  proposal  seemed  more  balanced  to  the  Council,  in
that  it  referred  to  European  systems  in  the  first  sentence,  whereas  the  need  for
international  compatibility  is  adequately  set  out  in  the  second  sentence.  For  the
same  reasons,  the  text  of  the  common  position  is  drawn  from  Amendment  19,
which  adds  this  last  element  which  did  not  appear  in  the  Commission  proposal.

Amendment  21  (Annex  I(3)(5))

the 

The Council also preferred to maintain the Commission text as, without prejudice
traditional
to 
information media seemed more important in the current phase of development of
the  information  society.

financial  resources  available,  simultaneous  recourse 

to 

Amendment  22  (Annex  I(3)(2)(2))

Subject to several minor adjustments, the Council here supported the more precise
text  proposed  by  the  Commission.

Amendment  23  (Annex  I(4)(1)(2a),  new)

The  Council  considered  that  the  additions  suggested  in  this  amendment  went
beyond  the  action  plan.