The presence of terrorist content on the internet can pose a serious risk to society. As demonstrated by the manifesto's publication by the terrorist attacker from Zámocká Street, terrorists misuse the internet to spread their messages. They intend to intimidate, radicalise, recruit or facilitate terrorist attacks. European Regulation 2021/784 on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online ("the Regulation") was created to tackle this threat.
One of its main tasks is to prevent and counter the dissemination of terrorist content online. It applies to any content that incites or encourages the commission of terrorist offences. The Regulation obliges hosting service providers to remove terrorist content from their services within specified time limits and to take measures to protect them from the public dissemination of such content.
In addition to combating the spread of terrorist content online, the regulation strengthens cooperation and coordination between Member States and the European Commission. Slovakia has designated two competent authorities to enforce the Regulation – the Council for Media Services (also referred to as the "Regulator") and the Slovak Police Force. With regard to the dissemination of terrorist content, the Regulator cooperates intensively with foreign partners in the framework of global prevention initiatives such as Christchurch Call, GIFCT, Tech Against Terrorism, and The Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse.
The Regulation entered into force on 7 June 2022. Since then, hosting providers offering their services within the European Union have been obliged to remove or disable access to terrorist content within one hour of receiving a takedown order from a competent authority. In Slovakia, this activity falls within the competence of the Slovak Police Force.
Providers of hosting services that are exposed to terrorist content are obliged, where relevant, to include in their terms and conditions the specific measures they take to remove terrorist content and specific measures to protect their services from the public dissemination of terrorist content. This may include, for example, technical means to quickly identify terrorist content. The Council for Media Services oversees the implementation of these measures. It is also tasked with publishing a Transparency Report on its activities in relation to dealing with the public dissemination of terrorist content online. The report's main objective is to increase the transparency of these processes and inform the public and partners from other EU Member States about the Regulator's activities in preventing the dissemination of terrorist content online in the context of the Regulation.