In less than a decade, the Internet in Europe has
evolved from a virtually unfettered environment to
one in which filtering in most countries, particularly
within the European Union (EU), is the norm
rather than the exception. Compared with many
of the countries in other regions that block
Internet content, the rise of filtering in Europe is
notable because of its departure from a strong
tradition of democratic processes and a commitment
to free expression. Filtering takes place in a
variety of forms, including the state-ordered takedown
of illegal content on domestically hosted
Web sites, the blocking of illegal content hosted
abroad, and the filtering of results by search
engines pertaining to illegal content. As in most
countries around the world that engage in filtering,
the distinction between voluntary and statemandated
filtering is somewhat blurred in
Europe. In many instances filtering by Internet
service providers (ISPs), search engines, and
content providers in Europe is termed “voluntary”
but is carried out with the implicit understanding
that cooperation with state authorities will prevent
further legislation on the matter.
The scope of illegal content that is filtered in
Europe largely is limited to child pornography,
racism, and material that promotes hatred and
terrorism, although more recently there have
been proposals and revisions of laws in some
countries that deal with filtering in other areas
such as copyright and gambling. Filtering also
takes place on account of defamation laws; this
practice has been criticized, particularly
in the UK, for curtailing lawful online behavior
and promoting an overly aggressive notice-andtakedown
policy, where ISPs comply by removing
content immediately for fear of legal action. ISPs
in Europe do not have any general obligation to
monitor Internet use and are protected from liability
for illegal content by regulations at the
European Union (EU) level, but must filter such
content once it is brought to their notice.
Therefore the degree of filtering in member states
depends on the efforts of governments, police,
advocacy groups, and the general public in identifying
and reporting illegal content.