The Council of Europe said that users must be informed when
filtering is taking place and must be able to control the
filtering, switching it off or correcting inaccuracies when they
want to.
Filtering content without such safeguards runs the risk of
undermining people's human rights, particularly their rights to
free expression and information and the right to participate in
democratic processes, it said.
The Council of Europe is distinct from the European Union and
has 47 members to the EU's 27, and is the body behind the European
Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human
Rights.
The Council's Committee of Ministers has published a
recommendation on internet filtering, an increasingly common
practice amongst organisations worried about unsuitable content
published online.
"When confronted with filters, users must be informed that a
filter is active and, where appropriate, be able to identify and to
control the level of filtering the content they access is subject
to," said the recommendation. "Moreover, they should have the
possibility to challenge the blocking or filtering of content and
to seek clarifications and remedies."
The Council recognised the need for filters in relation to
children's use of the internet, and said that institutions such as
libraries and schools should be able to filter content to protect
children from potentially harmful content.
It said that there were legitimate concerns about children's
exposure to content (for example violence and self-harm,
pornography, discrimination and racism) and behaviours (such as
grooming, bullying, harassment or stalking) carrying a risk of
harm".
It said, though, that countries must ensure that filtering is
not used to suppress information or prevent communication. The
Council recommends that countries legislate to protect users'
rights of access to information.
"Member states should introduce, where appropriate and
necessary, provisions under national law for the prevention of
intentional abuse of filters to restrict citizens’ access to lawful
content," said the recommendation.
The recommendation does not deal directly with the issue of the
filtering of illegally copied material from traffic by internet
service providers. Such filtering has been promoted by music
industry bodies as a way of stamping out illegal music
downloading.
