EstoniaInfoühiskonna teenuse seadus (Information Society Services Act), Terrorist Content Online Regulation Supervision, Removal Orders and Fines
Infoühiskonna teenuse seadus §§ 12(5), 12(6), 12-2 and 15-6 to 15-8, RT I 2004, 29, 191
In force since .
A specific illegal content rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition, Reporting, Governance
As of .
What it requires
- Remove terrorist content, or disable access to it, within one hour of receiving a removal order, and inform the authority that issued the order without undue delay once you have done so (Article 3(3) and (6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/784, whose breach Section 15-6 of the Infoühiskonna teenuse seadus punishes).
- When you receive a cross-border removal order under Article 4, take the measures provided for in Article 3 and the measures needed to be able to reinstate the content or access, and reinstate it immediately on receiving a decision that finds the order infringes the Regulation (Article 4(2) and (7)).
- Promptly inform the authorities competent for the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences when you become aware of terrorist content involving an imminent threat to life (Article 14(5), backed by Section 15-7).
- Meet the other duties of the Regulation that Section 15-8 backs with a fine: if you are exposed to terrorist content, apply terms and conditions against its misuse, take and report specific measures (Article 5(1) to (3), (5) and (6)); keep the safeguards for preserved content (Article 6(3)); publish your policy and transparency report (Article 7); run a complaint mechanism (Article 10); tell content providers of a removal (Article 11); designate a contact point for removal orders (Article 15(1)); and, if your main establishment is outside the Union, designate a legal representative (Article 17).
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Penalty structure
Section 15-6(2) sets the maximum fine for a legal person at EUR 400,000 and Section 15-6(3) raises it for a repeated or systematic act to four percent of the hosting service provider's turnover in the preceding financial year; Sections 15-7(2) and 15-8(2) set it at EUR 1,200. A natural person is fined up to 300 fine units under Sections 15-6(1), 15-7(1) and 15-8(1).
- Rule
- Higher of
- As of
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 400,000
- Turnover percentage cap
- 4
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Security Police Board (Kaitsepolitseiamet), which issues removal orders, supervises Article 3(3) and (6), Article 4(2) and (7), Article 6(1) and (2) and Article 14(5) of the Regulation and is the out-of-court body for Sections 15-6 and 15-7; the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority supervises the other listed articles and is the out-of-court body for Section 15-8.
What this law does
Section 12(5) makes the Security Police Board (Kaitsepolitseiamet) the supervisor of the measures for removing terrorist online content and executing removal orders under Article 3(3) and (6), Article 4(2) and (7), Article 6(1) and (2) and Article 14(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/784.
Section 12(6) makes the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority the supervisor of the technical requirements, content preservation and reporting measures under Article 5, Article 6(3), Articles 7, 10 and 11, Article 15(1) and Article 17 of that Regulation. Section 12-2(1) has the Security Police Board issue the removal order provided for in Article 3 of the Regulation and scrutinize the cross-border removal order provided for in Article 4.
Section 15-6(1) punishes a failure to meet the requirements in Article 3(3) and (6) and Article 4(2) and (7) with a fine of up to 300 fine units. Section 15-6(2) sets the fine for a legal person that commits the same act at up to EUR 400,000. Section 15-6(3) sets the fine for a repeated or systematic act under paragraph 2 at up to four percent of the hosting service provider's turnover in the preceding financial year.
Section 15-7 punishes a failure to meet the requirements in Article 14(5) with a fine of up to 300 fine units, or up to EUR 1,200 for a legal person. Section 15-8 punishes a failure to meet the requirements in Article 5(1) to (3), (5) and (6), Article 6(3), Articles 7, 10 and 11, Article 15(1) and Article 17 with a fine of up to 300 fine units, or up to EUR 1,200 for a legal person.
Under Section 16(3), the Security Police Board is the out-of-court body for the misdemeanors in Sections 15-6 and 15-7. The provisions took effect on .
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