Post by congregatio on Aug 24, 2017 2:16:40 GMT 4
The BEE SECURE STOPLINE website is the Luxembourg one-stop shop for reporting criminal content published on the Internet. This online tool is an initiative of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and co-funded by the European Commission under the Safe Internet Programme. It participates in a wide network with international members coordinated by the "INHOPE" association.
Why "BEE"?
As the initiative first aims at combating child sexual abuse, particularly online, a bee cartoon character has been created to get children accustomed to and advised of the dangers of the Internet. The website "www.bee.lu" is specially dedicated to this mission.
What content?
This website particularly concerns criminal content that affects the protection of the public interest in a digital public space. It mainly targets child sexual abuse material, racism, revisionism and discrimination, as well as terrorism and crimes of incitement such as incitement to hatred. In the case of discrimination, for example, advertisements which select individuals based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation are prohibited. Criminal content may also include indecency in advertising where an affront to public decency is committed. This covers any statements or audio or visual treatments that offend standards of decency currently prevailing in the related country and culture.
How to report?
The BEE SECURE STOPLINE website permits anybody to report potential criminal content. The report can be anonymous and include replies to certain questions in order to gather as much information as possible on the suspected offence (i.e. type of content, website, screenshots). The user can also track the status of his/her report, via a tracking report number generated after the registration of the report.
Which process?
Once the operators of the BEE SECURE STOPLINE website have identified criminal content in the report, a technical investigation is set in motion which will determine the country hosting the criminal content. This information is then transmitted to the competent departments of the Grand-Ducal Police. If the reported criminal content originates from a country that is a member of the international network of the Safe Internet Programme, the matter is transmitted to the relevant partner. In addition to this online process, the BEE SECURE STOPLINE website provides a helpline to report similar criminal content.
To go further
Last but not least, all legal means used on the Internet can be used, cumulatively or individually, alongside the traditional ones: such as criminal claim before the Luxembourg Prosecutor and/or civil claim before Luxembourg Courts, provided that conditions to initiate these legal actions are met.
To go even further, we can also highlight the question of content in advertising in general, because any online advertising results in publication of content and some content may fall into the scope of illegal activities, either civil or criminal. This is particularly the case for social networks which are out of the BEE SECURE STOPLINE initial competence, but also important to recall as regards illegal content. Several liabilities may apply to the different stakeholders contributing to a publication. It firstly concerns the author, but where the author is unknown, the editor or the broadcaster may also be liable. The publication of illegal contents on the Internet and in particular on social networks could be construed as a breach of freedom of speech which may lead to civil or criminal liability. Under Luxembourg law, advertisers could in certain contexts be regarded as a web host, which means that they will be held responsible for the information stored if: (i) the information stored is obviously illicit or if the advertiser has been made aware of its illicit character; and (ii) the advertiser does not act quickly to remove the information or make access to it impossible from the moment they become aware or should have become aware of the illicit content.
Why "BEE"?
As the initiative first aims at combating child sexual abuse, particularly online, a bee cartoon character has been created to get children accustomed to and advised of the dangers of the Internet. The website "www.bee.lu" is specially dedicated to this mission.
What content?
This website particularly concerns criminal content that affects the protection of the public interest in a digital public space. It mainly targets child sexual abuse material, racism, revisionism and discrimination, as well as terrorism and crimes of incitement such as incitement to hatred. In the case of discrimination, for example, advertisements which select individuals based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation are prohibited. Criminal content may also include indecency in advertising where an affront to public decency is committed. This covers any statements or audio or visual treatments that offend standards of decency currently prevailing in the related country and culture.
How to report?
The BEE SECURE STOPLINE website permits anybody to report potential criminal content. The report can be anonymous and include replies to certain questions in order to gather as much information as possible on the suspected offence (i.e. type of content, website, screenshots). The user can also track the status of his/her report, via a tracking report number generated after the registration of the report.
Which process?
Once the operators of the BEE SECURE STOPLINE website have identified criminal content in the report, a technical investigation is set in motion which will determine the country hosting the criminal content. This information is then transmitted to the competent departments of the Grand-Ducal Police. If the reported criminal content originates from a country that is a member of the international network of the Safe Internet Programme, the matter is transmitted to the relevant partner. In addition to this online process, the BEE SECURE STOPLINE website provides a helpline to report similar criminal content.
To go further
Last but not least, all legal means used on the Internet can be used, cumulatively or individually, alongside the traditional ones: such as criminal claim before the Luxembourg Prosecutor and/or civil claim before Luxembourg Courts, provided that conditions to initiate these legal actions are met.
To go even further, we can also highlight the question of content in advertising in general, because any online advertising results in publication of content and some content may fall into the scope of illegal activities, either civil or criminal. This is particularly the case for social networks which are out of the BEE SECURE STOPLINE initial competence, but also important to recall as regards illegal content. Several liabilities may apply to the different stakeholders contributing to a publication. It firstly concerns the author, but where the author is unknown, the editor or the broadcaster may also be liable. The publication of illegal contents on the Internet and in particular on social networks could be construed as a breach of freedom of speech which may lead to civil or criminal liability. Under Luxembourg law, advertisers could in certain contexts be regarded as a web host, which means that they will be held responsible for the information stored if: (i) the information stored is obviously illicit or if the advertiser has been made aware of its illicit character; and (ii) the advertiser does not act quickly to remove the information or make access to it impossible from the moment they become aware or should have become aware of the illicit content.