Our Continued Commitment to Safety

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European regulators are actively wrestling with how best to protect both privacy and safety. The European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) extends the EU’s communications regulatory framework, including the e-Privacy Directive’s protection, to the confidentiality of communications data, beyond traditional telephonic services to number-independent interpersonal communications services. By December 21, today, European Union Member States are expected to transpose this change into national law. At the same time, an interim solution is envisioned, and the European Commission has launched a consultation on a proposed regulation on the detection, removal, and reporting of child sexual abuse material online. On December 15, the Commission published the draft Digital Services Act intended to create the broad framework for, among other things, promoting voluntary efforts to detect and remove illegal and harmful content.

With the EECC’s December 21 deadline upon us and no articulated, harmonized regulatory approach for the near future, we remain hopeful that the European authorities will resolve these issues soon. This confluence of inter-related laws has created significant ambiguity and may lead to unintended consequences arising from new expectations of online service providers that present real risks to users of those services. Given this, we believe the only responsible approach is to remain steadfast in honoring our safety commitments that European – and, indeed, users around the world – expect and rely upon.

Read more about Microsoft’s approach here.

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