Tech giants urge EU not to hold them liable for illegal content online

Tech giants have asked Brussels not to hold them liable for the illegal content posted by users on their platforms and have pledged to boost efforts to remove the content and avoid harmful activity on their platforms.

Lobbyists representing companies including Google, Facebook and Twitter have written to the European Commission to warn that if companies were held legally liable that might also impact the firms that were actively trying to combat the harmful content.

Such rules would create “a perverse incentive whereby companies are discouraged from taking action before being made aware of the existence of illegal content, for fear of incurring additional liability”, said Siada El Ramly, director-general of tech business interest EDiMA.

However, the lobby has accepted that efforts to remove illegal and harmful activity might require oversight from a new bloc-level watchdog.

The plea came as the European Commission was drawing up a Digital Services Act to establish rules for the technology sector.

Recently, there has been growing pressure for Silicon Valley executives to assume responsibility for illegal material posted on their platforms and for the firms to be placed under greater scrutiny and for increased pressure on them to properly police content.