Proposed Communication Platforms Act, Part 1: Internet platforms to be obliged to immediately delete illegal content

Oct 30, 2020 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

The draft for a Communication Platforms Act (Kommunikationsplattformen-Gesetz, KoPl-G) is intended to make providers of communication platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) more accountable for the removal or blocking of illegal content.

The law is to apply to both domestic and foreign communication platforms. Excluded are providers of platforms that had no more than 100,000 registered users in the previous quarter and did not generate more than EUR 500,000 in revenues in Austria with the operation of the platform in the previous year. Completely excluded are platforms for brokering or selling services and goods (e.g. online flea markets), as well as non-profit online encyclopedias (Wikipedia) and the commentary columns of Austrian media (e.g. the DerStandard forum).

As a central element of the draft, platforms are obliged to set up an "effective and transparent" reporting and review procedure for alleged illegal content (in particular coercion, harassment and defamation offences) (Sec. 3). The procedure must be designed in such a way that users of the platform can report content using easily findable, permanently available and easy-to-use functions on the platform, receive a statement about the procedure with the report and its result and are immediately informed about the main reasons for the decision to proceed and the possible removal or blocking of the content.

The reporting procedure must be designed in such a way that reported content that is clearly illegal even for a legal layperson is deleted or blocked within 24 hours maximum. If the illegality of the content only becomes apparent after a detailed examination, the content must be deleted or blocked no later than within seven days.

In addition, an effective and transparent procedure must be established to review the decision on blocking or removal. This should prevent so-called "over-blocking", i.e. the premature removal of actually lawful content.

Federal Chancellery (Bundeskanzleramt), ministerial draft (03 September 2020)