Digital Affairs – Chancellery
of the Prime Minister

The joint statement is a contribution of Poland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden to the debate on changes to current regulations. The proposal currently in the works at the Commission, will hinge on the issue of establishing rules for removing illegal content from the internet and moderating content by online platforms. These are key issues from the standpoint of freedom on the internet, law enforcement and activities of internet intermediaries.

In a statement sent to Brussels, signed by ministers of the D9+ Group countries, we call for the proposed solutions to build the digital single market. We also propose that the procedure for removing illegal content (notice-and-action procedure) be harmonised across the European Union. We want the new rules to be based on principles that already proved to be effective in the case of the E-Commerce Directive. We believe that well-designed regulations will support online businesses. At the same time, we emphasise the importance of implementing appropriate mechanisms to ensure efficient removal of illegal content from the internet, while protecting against excessive or unjustified blocking or deletion of legal content uploaded by users.

The Group’s joint statement was developed on the initiative and under the leadership of the Ministry of Digital Affairs and is a result of the December meeting of the group, which was held in Warsaw. During the meeting, the participants talked about the directions for the revision of the regulations based on the E-Commerce Directive. The participants talked about, among others:

• new regulations on content moderation by online intermediaries – duties, responsibilities, distinguishing illegal and harmful content;
• transparency of algorithms used by online intermediaries and mechanisms for filtering content on the internet;
• enforcing EU law and assessing the need for a separate regulatory body for digital platforms.

The joint statement of the D9+ Group countries is not the end, but the beginning of work. The European Commission’s legislative initiative is expected at the turn of 2020. As the Ministry of Digital Affairs, we are going to actively seek the implementation of our postulates even before the start of formal legislative work at the EU level. Our actions are guided by openness, which is why we ask for your support in preparing our statement. We will keep you informed about the progress of the work.