Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:the Communication from the European Commission on the Follow-up to the multiannual Community action plan on promoting safer use of the Internet by combating illegal and harmful content on global networks, andthe Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Decision No 276/1999/EC adopting a multiannual Community action plan on promoting safer use of the Internet by combating illegal and harmful content on global networks
Date: 2002-11-20
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU control, Internet, action programme, child protection, information network, information technology, selective dissemination of information, technical regulations

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Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:

— the ‘Communication from the European Commission on the Follow-up to the multiannual
Community action plan on promoting safer use of the Internet by combating illegal and
harmful content on global networks’, and

— the ‘Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending
Decision No 276/1999/EC adopting a multiannual Community action plan on promoting
safer use of the Internet by combating illegal and harmful content on global networks’

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

(2003/C 73/09)

having regard to the Communication from the European Commission on the Follow-up to the
multiannual Community action plan on promoting safer use of the Internet by combating illegal and
harmful content on global networks and the Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of
the Council amending Decision No. 276/1999/EC adopting a Multiannual Community action plan on
promoting safer use of the internet by combating illegal and harmful content on global networks
[COM(2002) 152 final-2002/0071 (COD)];

having regard to the decision of the Council of the European Union of 12 April 2002 to consult it under
the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

having regard to the decision of its Bureau of 6 February 2002 to instruct the Commission for Culture
and Education to draw up an Opinion on this subject;

having regard to its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission on the follow-up to the Green
Paper on the protection of minors and human dignity in audiovisual and information services including
a Proposal for a Council Recommendation and the Communication from the Commission and Proposal
for a Council Decision adopting an action plan on promoting safe use of the Internet (CdR 54/98 fin) (1);

having regard to its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission on Network and Information
Safety: Proposal for a European Policy Approach (CdR 257/2001 fin) (2);

having regard to its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission on Creating a Safer
Information Society by Improving the Security of Information Infrastructures and Combating Computer-
related Crime: eEurope 2002 (CdR 88/2001 fin) (3);

having regard to its Opinion on Local and regional cooperation to protect children and young people
from abuse and neglect in the European Union (CdR 225/1999 fin) (4);

having regard to its recommendations made during the seminar on Local and regional cooperation to
protect children from abuse, held on 4 December 1998 (CdR 326/98 fin);

having regard to its draft Opinion (CdR 140/2002 rev. 2) adopted on 30 September 2002 by its
Commission for Culture and Education [Rapporteur: Mr Luigi Sergio Ricca, Mayor of Bollengo (I/PES)],

adopted the following Opinion unanimously at its 47th plenary session of 20 and 21 November 2002
(meeting of 20 November).

1. The Committee of the Regions’ views

The Committee of the Regions

welcomes the Commission’s decision to extend the
1.1.
current action plan on promoting safer use of the Internet, due

to end on 31 December 2002, for a second phase of two
years, adapting the scope and implementation of the action
plan in order to take into account the lessons learned and new
technologies, and to ensure coordination with parallel work in
the field of network and information security;

( 1) OJ C 251, 10.8.1998, p. 51.
( 2) OJ C 107, 3.5.2002, p. 89.
( 3) OJ C 107, 3.5.2002, p. 29.
( 4) OJ C 57, 29.2.2000, p. 46.

notes that the second phase of the Safer Internet Action
1.2.
Plan prepares for a possible subsequent wider initiative related
to content in Internet and new online media. The coverage of

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safer use will be extended to new online technologies, including
mobile and broadband content, online games, peer-to-peer file
transfer, and real-time communication such as chat rooms and
instant messaging. The initiative will cover a broader range of
areas of illegal and harmful content and conduct of concern,
such as racism and violence;

— enable users to avoid harmful content;

— foster a user-friendly system of content rating;

— promote safe use of the Internet.

1.3.
shares the concerns of lawmakers, parents and industry
regarding illegal and harmful content available on the Internet
and welcomes the fact that, with the action plan, the European
Union took a groundbreaking stance against such content,
based on a strategy agreed unanimously by the European
Parliament and the Council. The action plan is supplemented
by legal instruments and practical measures to combat com-
puter crime and child pornography and the Recommendation
on Protection of Minors and Human Dignity. The Safer
Internet Action Plan is a pillar of Community action in this
field and is one of the issues connected with information and
communication technologies (ICT). ICT have been a priority
of the EU for some time now, especially since the Lisbon
summit in 2000 and the eEurope action plan which followed;

1.4.
notes the continuing and serious public concern about
illegal and harmful content on the Internet, but points out that
a number of issues remain unresolved, such as what can be
classified as harmful content for children of a certain age, who
should set the general rules to be applied to content providers
and who should decide how these rules are to be applied;

However the CoR would make the following points and
recommendations:

2. The Committee of the Regions’ recommendations

The Committee of the Regions

2.1.
calls for a move from a passive strategy of selecting
filtering services, software and Parental Control Technology
available on the market to an active approach of supporting
and contributing to the development of software or software
components designed to ensure a level of parental control in
line with Commission guidelines. Research carried out by
universities, the ‘Open Source’ community and external manu-
facturers of such commercial products could be the best
channels for exploring this technology;

1.5.
welcomes the fact that the Commission has taken into
account future needs, considering that the use of the Internet
and new online technologies is set to increase and diversify.
Although in general this marks a positive trend, at the same
time the use of these technologies to spread illegal and harmful
content will also increase and diversify;

2.2.
emphasises that, considering the rising online trend of
using peer-to-peer technology and the increasing advantages it
presents, the programme of technology coverage should place
greater emphasis on this method of exchanging content; also
stresses that the promotion of an action plan on filtering
technology should not focus solely on private users;

1.6.
notes that the Commission has accepted the sugges-
tions set out in the intermediate evaluation of the action plan,
which gave a positive assessment of the first two years of
application but also made a number of criticisms in the form
of fifteen recommendations, to which the Commission has
responded with its proposal to amend Decision 1999/276/EC;

2.3.
considers that priority support should be given to the
creation and promotion of high-quality European content
designed specifically for children or for those needing protec-
tion. This is a particularly important initiative since the rapid
spread of broadband networks has led to a further expansion
of navigable sites, and has created new opportunities to place
harmful and illegal content;

1.7.
endorses the outline of the programme and the action
lines proposed by the Commission for the second phase.
Considers the general format of the programme to be well-
structured and balanced and endorses the action lines designed
to:

— empower users to report findings of illegal content;

— promote self-regulation;

2.4.
calls for a move from a passive to an active approach
in support of self-regulation, establishing a relationship with
Internet Service Providers (ISP). This would involve cooper-
ation as regards systems to catalogue and classify sites and
related Internet content, and thereby extend the area of
classification with the aim of overcoming resistance by econ-
omic interests and the slowness of procedures. Search engines
should give priority listing to duly labelled sites. Hotlines and
to
filtering systems are proving to be slow and difficult
develop. The most effective approach would be that of
legislative self-regulation in the form of ISP codes of conduct.

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2.5.
calls for an assessment of the possibility of setting up a
body to supervise and coordinate the entities and organisations
involved in the self-regulation and classification process to
maximise the potential both for control and for information;

2.6.
underscores that the annual financial allocation is
virtually the same as that already scheduled for the action plan
and seems inadequate to cope with the extended programme
proposed for the second phase. Furthermore the distribution
of resources between the key fields of action and the others
appears imbalanced. In order to have a discernible impact,
resources should be concentrated on a more limited number
of projects with defined measurable goals.

The CoR proposes:

— identifying schemes to run in given geographical areas as
testing grounds for control practices to be ‘exported’ to
other areas;

— identifying access schemes, for example points of access
local

to public networks, such as schools,
authorities, chambers of commerce etc.;

libraries,

— protecting public points of access to the Internet by
means of a ‘European product’, developed by EU-funded
research, which would work as a plug-in adjunct to the
browser, to filter navigation. Clearly such a filter must
not be incompatible with general use for other purposes.

2.7.
draws attention to the need to reappraise the cost
effectiveness of ‘awareness-exchange’ initiatives, also regarding
effective communication between projects and exchanging
material that often cannot be reused by a wider public (due to
age, social standing, technological ability, Internet experience);

2.8.
emphasises that the fact that the Internet has no
geographical borders and that users can unknowingly access
content posted outside the EU demands close cooperation
with all third countries, not only candidate countries. Therefore
strategic initiatives are needed to strengthen EU cooperation
with third countries and organisations, especially with those
with fewer legislative restraints. This means exploring and
ratifying international agreements on this delicate matter, to
outlaw providers which publish illegal sites and therefore make
them subject
to legal proceedings. This issue particularly
concerns Eastern European and South-East Asian countries
which, despite being technologically advanced, lack appropri-
ate legislation or in any case do not enforce legislation on
ensuring the safe use of the Internet;

2.9.
considers that for maximum effectiveness, the goals of
the EU’s action plan should be supported by a legislative
framework at national level. The CoR calls for a legislative
framework to be drawn up in accordance with the action lines,
together with some guidance on self-regulation. It could be
useful to set up a European team of legal and IT experts to
monitor and filter illegal information. The team would work
in close cooperation with police forces and could help identify
and close down illegal sites. The team should keep databases
of filtering systems constantly up to date, both on URL
(Universal Resource Location), and on illegal, harmful or
inappropriate content;

2.10.
considers that some of the problems associated with
a safe use of the Internet could be resolved by an intensive
education drive designed to raise awareness on this matter.
Regional and local authorities must have a key role in all
awareness-raising campaigns in this sector.

The role of regional and local government in promoting safer use of
the Internet

The Committee of the Regions

underscores the crucial need to involve local and
2.11.
regional authorities in all
initiatives and programmes laid
down in the Commission proposal, since it is at local level that
harmful practice physically reaches the more vulnerable end-
user. In addition, these authorities are responsible for education
services and spend considerable sums on promoting computer
training and use in schools. It is therefore necessary to adopt
measures designed to inform young people of the security
aspects of the information society and the consequences of
computer-related crime;

considers, on the other hand,

that the full and
2.12.
families could pose a problem.
effective involvement of
Often parents do not get involved and leave their children
unsupervised, either through their own lack of technological
knowledge or interest, or even because they too visit non-
educational sites;

2.13.
calls therefore for wider involvement of local and
regional authorities in initiatives conducted under the plan,
bearing in mind that the information society makes possible
new forms of civil society and regional and local democracy;
as these citizens’ networks tend to have a high level of
participation, they are particularly at risk of attack and external
manipulation, in some cases of a racist or extremist kind.
There is a danger that confidence in the services may be
undermined;

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underscores the important role of local authorities in
2.14.
ensuring a balanced development of
the knowledge and
information society in the European Union that will enhance
economic and social cohesion in regions, cities and districts
throughout Europe. Consequently it is essential to guarantee
the security of information systems and networks;

2.15.
notes that the lack of confidence in information
networks and systems is slowing down the widespread intro-
duction of new services connected with the information and
knowledge society;

have a crucial role in carrying out practical measures designed
to ensure the efficacy of the action plan. In its current form,
the programme does not sufficiently reflect the involvement
and role of local and regional authorities alongside other major
groups (for example, government agencies, university institutes
and voluntary groups which play an important, often principal
role in this field). For this reason, attention should also be
focused on training initiatives to boost the qualifications of
voluntary workers, with the involvement of local and regional
authorities;

2.16.
cooperatives and businesses,

emphasises that due to their proximity to the public,
local and regional authorities

2.17.
as necessary are not delayed for financial reasons.

recommends moreover that the measures identified

Brussels, 20 November 2002.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE