e-lending for public libraries

This policy brief examines the practice of e-lending with a focus on public libraries. Currently, public libraries face legal uncertainty regarding the legality of lending e-books due to copyright issues and the implementation of the public lending right. This policy brief aims to further provide recommendations on how to improve legal certainty on public e-lending at EU level.

Distinguishing ‘harmful’ and ‘illegal’ content in the DSA

The ILP Lab is partnering with the DSA observatory and the data rights agency AWO to investigate the proposed requirement for online intermediaries to distinguish ‘harmful’ and ‘illegal’ content on their services. In the proposal for a Digital Services Act (COM/2020/825 final), the European Commission amongst other things urges providers of intermediary services to take… Read more

End-to-end encryption under child protection rules

End-to-end encryption is applied in various communication services. It provides secure communications and affords its users privacy. However, encryption also makes it difficult for law enforcement to detect and investigate the distribution of images of child sexual abuse via these services. Recently, various policymakers, including the Dutch government, have proposed to restrict encryption in chat… Read more

Data retention revisited

The ILP Lab, together with EDRI, is  critically revisiting the question of data retention. Are the ongoing aspirations to reintroduce a data retention obligation in the EU remain in violation of EU law as long as the strict necessity of data retention is unproved and no genuinely targeted retention obligation is considered ? In light… Read more

Processing of children’s personal data on social media platforms

In collaboration with the Dutch Consumer Organisation the ILP lab is conducting research into the processing of children’s personal data on social media platforms. According to the GDPR, platforms must offer ‘specific protection’ to children with regard to the processing of their personal data (recital 38 GDPR). The question is whether this is really actually done. Another… Read more

Dispute resolution mechanisms for online content moderation

The ILP Lab is partnering with the Transatlantic High Level Working Group on its project ‘Content Moderation Online and Freedom of Expression’. The purpose of this project is to identify and encourage adoption of scalable solutions on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean to reduce hate speech, violent extremism and viral deception online, while protecting… Read more

Balancing transparency and privacy in the UBO register

Pursuant to the 4th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive, all EU Member States must have a register for Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBO), containing data on natural persons having control over more than 25% of the assets of a legal person or trust. In light of the new Open Data and PSI-Directive, the ILP Lab is partnering… Read more

Towards a future-proof intermediary liability framework

The framework for the liability of internet intermediaries of the eCommerce Directive is currently under review. The ILP Lab is partnering with Bits of Freedom to propose to the European Commission a revised framework, striking a fair balance between communication freedom, privacy rights and intellectual property rights. For our research, the ILP Lab reaches out… Read more