The evaluation was initially scheduled for June of this year.
The evaluation planned by the European Commission to assess the effectiveness of the standards fight against terrorist content online has been delayed until 2025 to include the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7 last year, as statedthe Community Executive in a response to parliamentary questions.
The regulations on online terrorist content, which came into force in June 2022, are intended to combat terrorist misuse of social media and the dark web to radicalize, recruit and incite violence.
European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said in a response to questions from legislator Patrick Breyer (Germany, Greens/EFA) that the adoption of the evaluation report, initially scheduled for this June, It is now scheduled for the second quarter of 2025.
The report will continue the adoption of the implementation and monitoring programwhich was delayed due to the late transmission of key information to the Commission by Member States and hosting service providers, Johansson explained.
“It was also considered important to reflect the application of the Regulation after the terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023,” he added.
According to the regulations, Internet companies must take measures to prevent misuse of their platforms. The legislation arose from events such as the live-streamed terrorist attacks in Christchurch (New Zealand) in 2019 and in Buffalo (United States) in May 2022.
Internet service providers must remove terrorist content online within one hour after receiving a removal order from a national government authority. These regulators can also sanction platforms for non-compliance.
The Commission also has powers to remove content under the Digital Services Lawapplicable to large online platforms from August 2023. In December, the EU executive started an investigation under the DSA on social media platform the dissemination of illegal content in the context of Hamas attacks against Israel.
