My thesis concerns the analysis of the liability profiles of the Internet Service Providers within the European law and in relation to the spread of illicit and harmful content on the internet. More specifically, on the one hand, the analysis takes into consideration the Directive 2000/31/EC (currently in force) and, on the other hand, the proposal of the new regulatory text which aims at better addressing the regulation needs, concerning digital services and providers, that have developed throughout the years: the Digital Services Act. The Directive 2000/31/EC has been in force for twenty years and, when it was approved, the digital environment was extremely different from today: the internet technology was in its infancy, social networks did not exist and eCommerce was a novelty. Having considered this state of affairs, the European Union believed it was necessary to encourage the development of the internet and its operators; for this reason, it adopted a rather permissive legal text (eCommerce Directive) that assured a great amount of protection to the ISPs (Internet Service Providers) in terms of liability. However, a lot has changed in twenty years: new types of digital services and providers have appeared (and have now conquered the scenes) and the number of users has hugely increased. What is more, an increasingly amount of illicit and false content has started to spread causing harmful consequences on users (child pornography, fake news, defamation and scams for example). All this has lead authorities and people to raise doubts about the liability regime of the ISPs (which, under certain conditions, are protected by the safe harbours regime). Moreover, the rise of problems due to faults in the Directive text have made things worse: little textual and conceptual clarity related to certain fundamental elements (neutrality, actual knowledge, illicit content, personal data protection ecc.), reduced law standardisation capacity within the Members States (fragmentation) and little clarity for procedures. In view of these facts, the European Commission has, therefore, decided to formulate a new regulatory text that is able to address these deficiencies: a clear and unique text which puts the users and their rights at the centre, and which fights harmful, illicit content assigning the right responsibilities. After a number of preliminary assessments and consultations, that have engaged stakeholders, academics and experts, the first version of the norm has been published in December 2020. This has marked a turning point for both the ISPs, the liability regime and the European users: from the clarification of ambiguous concepts to the introduction of new dispositions (e.g due diligence obligations, Know Your Business Costumer), up to the reformulation of certain liability aspects, its effects will be evident. Not only the legal text will affect the ISPs, but also the users; therefore, it is fundamental to understand what European users know and think about the DSA. For such reason, through a Social Network Analysis on Twitter (following the hashtag #digitalservicesact) and a Co-hashtag Analysis, the behaviour of the users has been observed, highlighting the need for a more intense engagement. The text of the DSA is not yet definite: in accordance with new proposals and dynamics, a lot will need to be discussed and, almost certainly, changed; but all this, only the future will tell.
Il lavoro di tesi si focalizza sull’analisi, nel quadro giuridico europeo, dei profili di responsabilità degli Internet Service Provider, nell’ambito della diffusione sulla rete di contenuti illeciti e dannosi. In particolare, l’analisi prende in considerazione, da un lato, la Direttiva 2000/31/CE (normativa attualmente in vigore) e, dall’altro, la proposta del nuovo testo normativo atto a rispondere meglio alle necessità che si sono sviluppate in ambito di regolamentazione dei servizi digitali e dei loro fornitori: il Digital Services Act. La Direttiva 2000/31/CE è in vigore da vent’anni e, quando è stata formulata, il panorama digitale era profondamente diverso rispetto a quello odierno: la tecnologia di Internet era agli albori, non esistevano ancora i social network e l’eCommerce era a uno stadio rudimentale. Proprio per questo, l’Unione europea, ritenendo necessario favorire lo sviluppo della rete e dei suoi operatori, aveva formulato un testo normativo (la Direttiva sul commercio elettronico) piuttosto permissivo che garantiva un elevato grado di tutela agli ISP (Internet Service Provider) in termini di responsabilità. In vent’anni, però, molto è cambiato: sono nate nuove tipologie di servizi digitali e provider (che hanno conquistato la scena) ed è aumentato il numero di utenti della rete. Questa evoluzione, poi, ha visto la circolazione di un maggior numero di contenuti illeciti e falsi che hanno avuto conseguenze dannose per gli utenti (pedopornografia minorile, fake news, diffamazione e truffe per citarne solo alcuni). Questo ha portato a questionare anche la responsabilità che i provider (tutelati dall’esenzione dalla stessa dato il rispetto di certe condizioni) avevano in queste vicende. A questi, poi, si sono aggiunte problematiche derivanti da alcune mancanze del testo precedente: poca chiarezza concettuale e testuale relativamente ad alcuni aspetti fondamentali (neutralità, effettiva conoscenza, contenuto illecito, protezione dei dati personali ecc.), ridotta capacità di uniformazione giuridica europea (frammentarietà) e ridotta chiarezza nelle procedure. Alla luce di queste dinamiche, la Commissione europea ha ritenuto necessario formulare un nuovo testo normativo che potesse sopperire a queste mancanze: un testo chiaro e univoco che metta l’utente e i suoi diritti al centro e che combatta contenuti illeciti, dannosi, attribuendo le giuste responsabilità. La prima versione del testo, dopo una serie di valutazioni e consultazioni preliminari, è stata pubblicata a fine dicembre 2020 e ha segnato una vera svolta tanto per gli ISP e il regime di (non) responsabilità, quanto per gli utenti europei: dal chiarimento di concetti ambigui, all’introduzione di nuove disposizioni (e.g. due diligence obligations, Know Your Business Costumer), fino alla riformulazione di alcuni aspetti legati all’attribuzione di responsabilità, gli effetti che avrà saranno evidenti. Le conseguenze di tale testo non ricadranno solo sugli ISP, ma anche sugli utenti; e capire cosa gli utenti europei sappiano o pensino del DSA è fondamentale. Per questo, attraverso l’esecuzione di una Social Network Analysis di Twitter (seguendo l’hashtag #digitalservicesact), accompagnata dall’analisi delle co-occorrenze semantiche tra hashtag, si è osservato il comportamento degli utenti a riguardo, evidenziando la necessità di un loro maggiore coinvolgimento. Il testo, però, è solo alla sua prima versione: molto dovrà essere ancora discusso, e probabilmente modificato, alla luce di nuove proposte e dinamiche; ma questo solo il futuro potrà dirlo.
La responsabilità degli Internet Service Provider e il Digital Services Act tra presente, passato e futuro
MAGNOLO, ANNALISA
2020/2021
Abstract
My thesis concerns the analysis of the liability profiles of the Internet Service Providers within the European law and in relation to the spread of illicit and harmful content on the internet. More specifically, on the one hand, the analysis takes into consideration the Directive 2000/31/EC (currently in force) and, on the other hand, the proposal of the new regulatory text which aims at better addressing the regulation needs, concerning digital services and providers, that have developed throughout the years: the Digital Services Act. The Directive 2000/31/EC has been in force for twenty years and, when it was approved, the digital environment was extremely different from today: the internet technology was in its infancy, social networks did not exist and eCommerce was a novelty. Having considered this state of affairs, the European Union believed it was necessary to encourage the development of the internet and its operators; for this reason, it adopted a rather permissive legal text (eCommerce Directive) that assured a great amount of protection to the ISPs (Internet Service Providers) in terms of liability. However, a lot has changed in twenty years: new types of digital services and providers have appeared (and have now conquered the scenes) and the number of users has hugely increased. What is more, an increasingly amount of illicit and false content has started to spread causing harmful consequences on users (child pornography, fake news, defamation and scams for example). All this has lead authorities and people to raise doubts about the liability regime of the ISPs (which, under certain conditions, are protected by the safe harbours regime). Moreover, the rise of problems due to faults in the Directive text have made things worse: little textual and conceptual clarity related to certain fundamental elements (neutrality, actual knowledge, illicit content, personal data protection ecc.), reduced law standardisation capacity within the Members States (fragmentation) and little clarity for procedures. In view of these facts, the European Commission has, therefore, decided to formulate a new regulatory text that is able to address these deficiencies: a clear and unique text which puts the users and their rights at the centre, and which fights harmful, illicit content assigning the right responsibilities. After a number of preliminary assessments and consultations, that have engaged stakeholders, academics and experts, the first version of the norm has been published in December 2020. This has marked a turning point for both the ISPs, the liability regime and the European users: from the clarification of ambiguous concepts to the introduction of new dispositions (e.g due diligence obligations, Know Your Business Costumer), up to the reformulation of certain liability aspects, its effects will be evident. Not only the legal text will affect the ISPs, but also the users; therefore, it is fundamental to understand what European users know and think about the DSA. For such reason, through a Social Network Analysis on Twitter (following the hashtag #digitalservicesact) and a Co-hashtag Analysis, the behaviour of the users has been observed, highlighting the need for a more intense engagement. The text of the DSA is not yet definite: in accordance with new proposals and dynamics, a lot will need to be discussed and, almost certainly, changed; but all this, only the future will tell.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/1449