How to
Sponsor ISPA

ISPA Lobbying Secures Clarity for Providers of Internet Services in E-Commerce Regulations

Government and Industry still need to address Notice and Takedown
 
Monday, 12 August 2002 
 
The E-Commerce Regulations, implementing the EU E-Commerce Directive as UK law, were laid before Parliament on 31st July 2002 and will come into force on 21st August 2002. 
 
The Regulations contain a number of significant changes to the draft Regulations circulated for consultation earlier this year. During the consultation, ISPA lobbied for a consistent interpretation of the E-Commerce Directive and greater legal clarity on a number of issues, most importantly the ‘country of origin’ principle, liability for intermediaries and notice and takedown procedures. As a result, ISPA has successfully achieved a number of the provisions and amendments it requested, and particularly welcomes the following changes: 
 
‘Country of Origin’ Principle – The Governments draft regulations had suggested that UK providers of Internet services were subject to the laws of each member state of the European Union. ISPA worked to receive a clear and transparent commitment from the Government that UK service providers would be subject to UK national laws – the laws of their ‘country of origin’. This provides the legal certainty required by providers of e-commerce services in the UK that they will only be subject to UK law rather than the law of every Member State of the EU.
 
Liability of Intermediaries – The draft regulations were ambiguous regarding the limitations placed upon the civil and criminal liability of service providers who transmit, cache or host third-party content. ISPA helped the Government to remove these ambiguities. The published Regulations ensure that service providers benefit from the same limited liability in both civil and criminal matters.  
 
Notice and Takedown –The Regulations do not outline a formal procedure for the removal of illegal content (notice and takedown) or provide statutory backing for notice and takedown codes of practice, as requested by ISPA. However, they go some way to defining how service providers might be deemed to have ‘actual knowledge’ of the illegal nature of third party content by providing guidance for consideration by a court on the minimum requirements that a notice about illegal content must contain. This may help to standardise what constitutes a notice. 
 
Nicholas Lansman, Secretary General of the Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA UK) today welcomed the changes:  
 
“It is crucial for the development of the UK Internet industry that the E-Commerce Directive is accurately interpreted and implemented the UK Government. The consultation on the draft Regulations and our negotiations with Government have achieved much greater clarity regarding the liability and legal position for providers of Internet services, and ISPA is grateful for the opportunities afforded to us to make representations on behalf of our members.” 
 
But more work is needed on notice and takedown, Mr Lansman continued:  
 
“Formal procedures governing the removal of illegal material (notice and takedown) need to be developed to further clarify the rights and responsibilities of service providers. The Government has agreed to facilitate meetings with stakeholders to address the development of industry codes of practice in this area. ISPA looks forward to working together with Government and other relevant stakeholders to agree a clear framework.” 
 
ISPA will also continue to push for clarification on limiting the liability of other types of intermediaries, such as providers of hyperlinks, location tools and content aggregation, as the absence of legislation creates legal uncertainty.  
 
Mr Lansman said: “ The Government have indicated they will be consulting further on this issue and ISPA will be actively participating in the ongoing discussions. We therefore welcome participation from such providers to address this important issue”. 
 
                                                 - ends -
 
Notes to Editors
 
For further information, please contact the ISPA press office. Email: pressoffice@ispa.org.uk Tel: 020 7340 4535
 
The Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA) was established in 1995 as a trade association to represent providers of Internet services in the UK. ISPA promotes competition, self-regulation and the development of the Internet industry. For a list of members or other information about ISPA, please consult the website: http://www.ispa.org.uk 
 
ISPA holds permanent membership of the Internet Watch Foundation, the Internet Crime Forum, the Home Office Task Force on Child Protection on the Internet, the DfES Safety Strategy Group, EURIM, the Parliamentary IT Committee (PITCOM), the Association of Communication Service Providers, the Oftel Internet Forum, and international organisations such as EuroISPA, and the World ISP Forum. 
 
The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 can be found at:
http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2002/20022013.htm
 
The E-Commerce Directive
 
Directive 2000/31/EC on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the internal market (the E-Commerce Directive) was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 17 July 2000. 
 
The purpose of the E-Commerce Directive is to ensure the free movement of information society services across the European Community. It aims to encourage greater use of e-commerce by breaking down barriers across Europe and boosting consumer confidence by clarifying the rights and obligations of businesses and consumers. 
 
The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002 No.2013) transpose the main requirements of the E-Commerce Directive into UK law. The Regulations include provisions for: