During my usual year-end inspection of ‘Dutch enforcers’, I came to nine ‘authorities’ this week. There are also about eleven inspections and one ‘inspector’. One research council, an agency (Telecom), a bank (de Nederlandsche), a state supervision (on the mines), an executive institute (UWV) and a supervisory directorship, for the media. In addition, there is a varied collection of bureaus, services, foundations and ‘organisations’ that could just as easily be called an authority or an inspectorate. There are regular mergers and name changes there, so it’s helpful homework. Before you know it, an Inspectorate is crawling around that I didn’t know before. Or is there an unknown Authority at the door.
During an inspection, I mainly see those FBI-like windbreakers with an abbreviation on them, during a raid. But to an authority is a well-dressed person with authority and authority. Preferably a bit boring. The desk van Voskuil, that world. Good afternoon, I am the Gaming, Consumer and Market Authority or Radiation Protection Authority. Take your seat.
It looks like there will be two more next year. One for online child pornography and one for terrorist online content. At a webinar last week about regulating online expressions, I understood that the two will probably be combined. So already fused before birth. The National Coordinator for Terrorism and Security (NCTV), who is incubating the proposal, has not yet come up with a name. In fact, the NCTV is also such a vague authority. But it will be something like the Online Threats Authority. At least a name that contains the common denominator of terror and child pornography. Perhaps it should then become ‘Fundamental Threats Online’ – otherwise every tweeter who is being bullied online thinks he can report there. And that is left to existing authorities for the time being.
The order to do something about ‘Terrorist Online Content’ comes from Brussels – the EU TOI Regulation has to be done. The cabinet closed this summer the online consultation of the bill off; the new authority is going to issue removal orders to hosting service providers, companies that provide websites on behalf of others. The authority issues such an order after its own investigation or at the request of another Member State. So that can easily be a hassle – I can already see a removal order from Poland for a Dutch website that we think is a bit daring here. And vice versa.
That is why, especially at the request of the Netherlands, an ‘own’ check is ingrained before such an order has to be executed. This should be done within twelve hours. Both the hoster and the provider of the website may request such a review. So those will be super-fast objection procedures, or so the idea is. That will still be a thing. To enforce the removal order, the authority can choose from the ‘order subject to penalty’ and the administrative fine. Seems pretty exciting to me given the political content of the dreaded ‘online content’ that needs to disappear.
The Authority Online Child Pornography then it’s easier. This authority will issue binding instructions to providers to promptly make such material ‘inaccessible’. This authority is an initiative of the cabinet, prompted by the fact that Dutch territory is number 2 in the international ranking of hosts of online child pornography distributors. Current self-regulation reportedly traps 84 percent of the supply, but 16 percent simply remains. This confirms the national image of a lack of norms in drugs and porn, which is increasingly hindering the international environment due to digitization and globalization.
The bill provides for ‘binding instructions’ to be given to hosters who are currently not cooperating sufficiently or not quickly enough. This also concerns administrative law: penalty payments after an ‘order’ (assignment) or an administrative fine. So this is all extra enforcement.
The new authority acts in addition to and in cooperation with the Public Prosecution Service and the police – investigation and prosecution are separate from it. So next year there will be ten authorities and counting.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC Handelsblad on 11 December 2021
A version of this article also appeared in NRC in the morning of December 11, 2021
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