European UnionTerrorist Content Online Regulation, Article 3 (Removal orders: removal within one hour)
Regulation (EU) 2021/784, Article 3
In force since .
A specific illegal content rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Reporting
As of .
What it requires
- If you are a hosting service provider offering services in the Union, a provider of services consisting of the storage of information provided by and at the request of a content provider, whatever your place of main establishment, and you disseminate information to the public, remove terrorist content or disable access to it in all Member States as soon as possible and in any event within one hour of receipt of a removal order issued by the competent authority of a Member State (Articles 1(2), 2(1) and 3(3)). Material disseminated to the public for educational, journalistic, artistic or research purposes, or for the purposes of preventing or countering terrorism, is not terrorist content (Article 1(3)).
- Without undue delay after you remove the terrorist content or disable access to it, inform the competent authority that issued the order, using the template set out in Annex II, and indicate the time of the removal or disabling (Article 3(6)).
- If you cannot comply with a removal order on grounds of force majeure or de facto impossibility not attributable to you, including for objectively justifiable technical or operational reasons, inform the competent authority that issued it of those grounds without undue delay, using the template set out in Annex III; the one-hour deadline starts to run once those grounds have ceased to exist (Article 3(7)).
- If you cannot comply with a removal order because it contains manifest errors or does not contain sufficient information for its execution, inform the competent authority that issued it without undue delay and request the necessary clarification, using the template set out in Annex III; the one-hour deadline starts to run once you have received the clarification (Article 3(8)).
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionNo
Penalty structure
Article 18(3) requires Member States to ensure that a systematic or persistent failure to comply with the obligations in Article 3(3) is subject to financial penalties of up to 4 % of the hosting service provider's global turnover of the preceding business year. For any other infringement of Article 3(3) and (6), Article 18(1) leaves the type and level of penalty to the Member States, which must make them effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
- Rule
- Turnover pct only
- As of
- Turnover percentage cap
- 4
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The competent authorities each Member State designates to issue removal orders under Article 3 and to impose penalties under Article 18 (Article 12(1), points (a) and (d)).
What this law does
Article 1(2) applies the Regulation to hosting service providers offering services in the Union, irrespective of their place of main establishment, insofar as they disseminate information to the public. Article 2(1) defines a hosting service provider as a provider of services, as defined in point (b) of Article 1 of Directive (EU) 2015/1535, consisting of the storage of information provided by and at the request of a content provider.
Article 2(7) defines terrorist content as material that incites the commission of one of the offences referred to in points (a) to (i) of Article 3(1) of Directive (EU) 2017/541, where it, directly or indirectly, such as by the glorification of terrorist acts, advocates the commission of terrorist offences, thereby causing a danger that one or more such offences may be committed; that solicits a person or a group of persons to commit or contribute to the commission of such an offence or to participate in the activities of a terrorist group; that provides instruction on the making or use of explosives, firearms or other weapons or noxious or hazardous substances, or on other specific methods or techniques for the purpose of committing or contributing to such an offence; or that constitutes a threat to commit such an offence.
Article 1(3) provides that material disseminated to the public for educational, journalistic, artistic or research purposes, or for the purposes of preventing or countering terrorism, is not considered to be terrorist content. Article 3(1) gives the competent authority of each Member State the power to issue a removal order requiring hosting service providers to remove terrorist content or to disable access to terrorist content in all Member States.
Article 3(2) requires a competent authority that has not previously issued a removal order to a hosting service provider to provide it with information on the applicable procedures and deadlines at least 12 hours before issuing the order, except in duly justified cases of emergency. Article 3(3) requires hosting service providers to remove terrorist content or disable access to it in all Member States as soon as possible and in any event within one hour of receipt of the removal order.
Article 3(4) requires competent authorities to issue removal orders using the template set out in Annex I. Article 3(6) requires the hosting service provider to inform the competent authority without undue delay, using the template set out in Annex II, of the removal or the disabling of access, indicating in particular the time of the removal or disabling.
Article 3(7) requires a hosting service provider that cannot comply with a removal order on grounds of force majeure or de facto impossibility not attributable to it to inform the competent authority without undue delay using the template set out in Annex III, and the deadline in Article 3(3) starts to run once those grounds have ceased to exist.
Article 3(8) requires a hosting service provider that cannot comply with a removal order because it contains manifest errors or does not contain sufficient information for its execution to inform the competent authority without undue delay and request the necessary clarification, and the deadline in Article 3(3) starts to run once it has received the clarification.
Article 18(1) requires Member States to lay down the rules on penalties for infringements of the Regulation by hosting service providers, limits them to infringements of listed provisions that include Article 3(3) and (6), and requires them to be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
Article 18(3) requires Member States to ensure that a systematic or persistent failure to comply with the obligations in Article 3(3) is subject to financial penalties of up to 4 % of the hosting service provider's global turnover of the preceding business year. Article 24 provides that the Regulation applies from and is binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app operates a social platform.