The TCO Regulation requires each Member State to designate one or more competent authorities for its implementation (list of authorities in the EU).
In Belgium, as in many other Member States, two authorities have been designated as competent authorities for the implementation of the TCO Regulation: the Federal prosecutor’s office and the BIPT.
These two authorities cooperate closely at Belgian level as well as with their counterparts in other Member States, the European Commission and Europol.
The tasks entrusted to these authorities are divided as follows:
The Federal prosecutor’s office is responsible for the tasks referred to in Article 12(1)(a) and (b) of the TCO Regulation, mainly:
- issue orders to remove terrorist content or to disable access thereto;
- scrutinise cross-border removal orders (i.e. orders issued by a competent authority of another Member State against a hosting service provider established in Belgium or which has established its legal representative there) in order to determine whether it seriously or manifestly infringes the TCO Regulation or fundamental rights and freedoms. This scrutiny may be carried out on the initiative of the Federal prosecutor’s office or at the request of a hosting service provider or content provider. This scrutiny procedure may lead, within 72 hours, to a reasoned decision by the Federal prosecutor’s office, which may result in the removal order ceasing to have effect and the hosting service provider being required to immediately reinstate the removed content or access thereto.
The BIPT is responsible for the tasks referred to in Article 12 (1)(c) and (d) of the TCO Regulation, mainly:
- overseeing the implementation of specific measures taken by hosting service providers:
- adopting, where appropriate, a decision finding that a hosting service provider is exposed to terrorist content;
- verifying that the specific measures adopted by the provider following this decision comply with this Regulation.
- imposing sanctions on a hosting service provider in the event of an infringement of the obligations imposed by the Regulation, in particular
- where the provider does not remove the content or disable access thereto in all Member States as soon as possible and in any event within 1 hour of receipt of the order (or where the provider does not reinstate content when the Federal prosecutor’s office has adopted a decision to that effect);
- where the provider fails to inform the authority that issued the order to remove content or disable access thereto, indicating in particular the date and time;
- where a provider exposed to terrorist content does not adopt specific measures, does not apply the announced measures or where the specific measures do not meet the requirements of the Regulation and the provider does not comply with the BIPT’s request to ensure that this is the case.
- where a provider does not comply with its obligations regarding the preservation of removed or disabled content;
- where obligations relating to the terms and conditions for the provision of the service s, or to the provision of information to content providers, are not complied with;
- where there is no mechanism for users to complain about the removal or disabling of content by the provider following specific measures, or where a mechanism that does not comply with the Regulation is implemented;
- where the provider becomes aware of terrorist content involving an imminent threat to life, and does not promptly inform the competent authorities.
If a hosting service provider fails to meet its obligations, the BIPT may impose a financial penalty (penalty payment, fine) of up to 4% of the provider’s global turnover.
Finally, the competent authorities are required to publish an annual report on their implementing activities of the TCO Regulation. This report contains information on orders issued in Belgium, those that have been scrutinised (cross-border orders) and the number of decisions imposing sanctions or designating a hosting service provider as being exposed to terrorist content.
Contact
If you have questions on the TCO Regulation, you can contact the BIPT at the following e-mail address: tco@bipt.be.