Preventing digital communication tools and platforms from being used as vectors for the production, exchange and dissemination of illegal or harmful online content is a major global regulatory concern. Initiatives developed at the EU, UK and international level to reduce ‘online harm’ increasingly rely on various forms of public–private cooperation for the enforcement of laws and policies.
This Task Force will address key issues arising from ongoing national, EU and international efforts at regulating online content, and at tackling illegal, terrorist, and harmful online content. In the context of this Task Force, we will:
- Analyse ongoing EU and international policy and normative efforts directed at preventing digital communication tools and platforms from being used as vectors for the production, exchange, and dissemination of illegal or harmful online content.
- Explore the implications that norms and policies on online content moderation, the prevention of online harm, and the fight against illegal or terrorist content can have on legal safeguards related to privacy, data protection, and the freedom of expression.
- Better understand the legal and practical challenges arising from the recourse to public-private partnerships when combatting illegal or harmful online content.
- Assess the conditions for norms and policies related to the prevention of online harm and the fight against illegal and terrorist content to guarantee legal certainty for individuals and companies.
- Discuss possible ways to foster transnational regulatory convergence, as well as operational coordination between independent regulatory authorities and oversight bodies in a complex (multi-level and multi-actor) regulatory and enforcement environment.
The Task Force will provide a forum for expert discussions bringing together a group of selected high-level experts (by invitation only), including representatives of international organisations, EU and UK regulatory bodies and agencies, service providers, civil society actors, as well as leading academic experts.
The Task Force consultations aim to find possible solutions towards a global level playing field for an open and secure online environment, and to provide the evidence basis required to formulate constructive and practical policy recommendations that will inform the ongoing work of decision makers at the national, EU, and international level.
The Task Force is a collaboration between CEPS’ JHA Unit, in partnership with the Global Policy Institute at Queen Mary University London (GPI-QM), and the RENFORCE Centre at Utrecht University. This Task Force has received financial support from the UK Mission to the European Union.
Please find more information and the form to apply in the Downloads & Links section. For any questions, please email miriam.mir@ceps.eu.
