On 30 November, the Commission proposed to extend the Temporary Regulation on certain provisions of the e-Privacy Directive – EU Reporter.
Under the regulation, providers of certain number-independent interpersonal communication services will continue to voluntarily identify and report child sexual abuse on their services. They will also be able to remove material containing sexual abuse of minors.
The Interim Regulation is a temporary solution to allow this voluntary activity to continue until new permanent EU rules are introduced. On 3 August 2024, the Temporary Regulation will expire. In the EU, providers will have no legal basis to detect and report child sexual abuse on their services if new rules are not in place by then. So there will be plenty of chances for perpetrators to share child sexual abuse material, groom children in the EU and go unpunished.
And this at a time when evidence of child sexual abuse is growing in number and severity, and reporting plays a key role in investigating such offences, saving children and bringing perpetrators to justice. Hence the need to extend the Temporary Regulation.
In May 2022, the European Commission proposed a long-term legislative framework to address this serious problem: a proposal for a Regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse. Inter-institutional negotiations on this proposal are ongoing.
The Commission has proposed an extension of the Interim Regulation to avoid a legislative gap in the detection and reporting of child sexual abuse on the Internet. This would shorten the period before the approval of long-term legislation to tackle online child sexual abuse proposed by the Commission in 2022. The extension proposed today would be effective from 4 August 2024 for a maximum of two years.
The Commission continues to support fellow legislators in reaching agreement on a long-term solution to combat sexual abuse of minors.
