Recent events have multiplied concerns about potential fragmentation of the internet into a multitude of non-interoperable and disconnected 'splinternets'. Composed of thousands of compatible autonomous systems, the internet is by definition technically divided. Yet, the internet was also designed to be an open and global technical infrastructure. The unity and openness of the internet appear to be under great pressure from political, commercial and technological developments. This report explores the implications of the EU's recent policies in this field as well as the opportunities and challenges for EU Member States and institutions in addressing internet fragmentation. It underlines how recent EU legislative proposals – on the digital services act, digital markets act, artificial intelligence act, and NIS 2 Directive – could help to address patterns of fragmentation, but also have limitations and potentially unintended consequences.

EPRS Science and Technology Podcast - 'Splinternets': Addressing the renewed debate on internet fragmentation

&lt;p>The internet is a critical technology infrastructure for almost two thirds of the global population. We use the internet for personal, civic, commercial and professional activities. Failure of the internet would majorly impact how our societies, lives and work is organised. While a total global collapse of the internet is unlikely, major disruptions may arise. Three aspects are key in understanding of how this could materialise: the underlying technological infrastructures, which are evolving with time; the fact that tech companies are increasingly shaping the Internet architecture to seek new commercial strategies; and the increasing control of the digital sphere for political reasons.&lt;/p>

EPRS policy podcast - Future shocks 2023: Collapse of the Internet

Deepfakes (AI-manipulated media) are flooding the internet and altering reality. They influence the way certain events or statements are perceived and generate tensions by artificially creating misconceptions. Criminal offences have already been committed using this technique. Since the web operates worldwide, this creates challenges for local, national and supranational legal systems. Therefore, action is also required at the EU level.

Deepfakes - EN

Since its early development in the 1960s, Internet infrastructure has become almost as important as electricity and transport infrastructures in contemporary societies. More and more key services such as banking, food retail, and health care, rely on Internet connections. Despite its original resilient decentralised design, the increasing importance of a few central players and centralising developments have made the Internet more vulnerable to failure. What repercussions would that entail? Listen to our podcast to know more!

EPRS STOA podcast - What if the Internet failed?

The internet has changed the way many of us book our holidays. That’s why the EU decided to adapt the rules protecting package holiday makers. Here’s how you benefit from this!

This is what Europe does for package holiday makers

Are you tired of junk news? If so, you are certainly not alone. Here are three ways that Europe is helping people to become more informed users of the internet.

This is what Europe is doing for informed internet users

Do you shop online? If so, you’re among the 65 % of internet users in Europe who do. Shopping online is a growing phenomenon, especially among young people. But geo-blocking practices often prevent EU internet users from accessing the services they want. Here’s how the EU is making online shopping easier.

This is what Europe does for cross-border online shoppers

Perhaps you are one of the many people in Europe who use crowdfunding. This is a new internet-based tool to obtain funding for specific projects. It also allows investors to finance interesting projects.

This is what Europe does for crowdfunders

The rights of the child are part of human rights: rights that the EU and its Member States must respect, protect and fulfil. The Treaty on European Union establishes the objective for the EU to promote protection of the rights of the child. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU guarantees the protection of the rights of the child by the EU institutions and by EU countries when they implement EU law. Over the years the European Parliament has been instrumental in pushing children's rights to the core of European policies, particularly through its Intergroup on Children's Rights.

On 14 November 2023, the Civil Liberties Committee adopted its position on new measures to protect children online by preventing and stopping child sexual abuse. The draft Parliament position was adopted by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs with 51 votes in favour, 2 against, and 1 abstaining. Inter-institutional negotiations were authorised with 48 in favour, 2 against, and 4 abstaining.

To protect children online, the new rules would mandate internet providers to assess whether there is a significant risk of their services being misused for online child sexual abuse and to solicit children, and to take measures to mitigate these risks. MEPs want mitigation measures to be targeted, proportionate and effective, and providers should be able to decide which ones to use.

They also want to ensure that pornographic sites have adequate age verification systems, flagging mechanisms for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and human content moderation to process these reports. To stop minors being solicited online, MEPs propose that services targeting children should require by default user consent for unsolicited messages, have blocking and muting options, and boost parental control.

Children’s rights

A ban on "roaming" surcharges for using mobile phones abroad in the EU, to take effect from June 2017, and clear rules on the right to internet access, will become law when Parliament takes its final vote on the new telecoms package.

Roaming fees for calling, sending text messages and using mobile internet abroad in the EU will be banned from 15 June 2017.

Roaming - 8th parliamentary term

The EU is under growing pressure from disinformation by countries, non-state actors and terrorist groups which promote violence and use pseudo-news agencies and internet trolls to challenge democratic values and divide Europe.

The EU has been increasingly hit by destabilising messagesamounting – in different forms and to different degrees – to coherent hostile ‘strategic communications’ campaigns, or the processes of infusing communications activities with an agenda or plan to impact the behaviour of a target audience.

Anti-EU propaganda - 8th Parliamentary term

The end of May 2019 marked the first year since the full application of the General data protection regulation (GDPR).

The Parliament and the Commission have stressed that the full potential of data as a social good cannot be unlocked until citizens' lack of trust in technology and their sense of a loss of control of their personal data is properly addressed. Various matters are concerned: Artificial Intelligence (AI); Facial Recognition Technology (FRT); The Internet of Things (IoT); etc.

Data Protection

Speech by Roberta METSOLA, EP President at EPP Hearing on Internet Safety for Children

EP Plenary session - Oral question - The new European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+)

Opening of the sitting

Financial services contracts concluded at a distance (debate)

Urban wastewater treatment (debate)

Request for waiver of immunity

Action taken following a Parliament decision on immunity

The new European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+) (debate)

Resumption of the sitting

Voting time

Approval of the minutes of the previous sitting

Poor sanitary conditions, low levels of security and lack of parking places in rest areas for truck drivers (debate)

Explanations of vote

Motions for resolutions - The new European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+)

Approval of the minutes of the sitting and forwarding of texts adopted

Dates of forthcoming sittings

Closure of the sitting

Adjournment of the session

Plenary session

Internet access: a new human right

Composition of interparliamentary delegations: see Minutes

Composition of committees : see Minutes

Preparation of the Extraordinary European Council Meeting of 20 February 2020 on the Multiannual Financial Framework (debate)

Composition of committees and delegations

Announcement by the President

Corrections to votes and voting intentions : see Minutes

Approval of the minutes of the previous sitting : see Minutes

A social Europe in a Digital world (topical debate)

Gender Equality Strategy (debate)

The EU priorities for the 64th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (debate)

Composition of committees and delegations : see Minutes

False and Authentic Documents Online (FADO) system (debate)

State of play of the EU's fight against money laundering, in light of the Luanda Leaks (debate)

Composition of political groups : see Minutes

Humanitarian situation of refugees at EU external borders (debate)

Better internet for children (debate)

Coronavirus: ensuring fundamental rights and a coordinated European response (debate)

Approval of the minutes of the current sitting: see Minutes

Agenda of the next sitting : see Minutes

Plenary

Promotion of internet connectivity in local communities (debate)

Internet connectivity for growth, competitiveness and cohesion: European gigabit society and 5G - Digitising European industry (debate)

Recent transition of the IANA stewardship to the global internet community in October 2016 and the upcoming Internet Governance Forum in Mexico (6-8 December 2016) (debate)

Press seminar for web journalists

Video Hearing with the Senate of the Italian Republic - Statement by David SASSOLI, EP President on Internet as a human right

' Ideas for a new world '  Internet access: a new human right - Debate with EC President and former EC President- Introduction by David SASSOLI, EP President

Plenary session - Implementation and functioning of the .eu top level domain name

JURI committee meeting. Exchange of views with Romanian Presidency. Presentation of study on Essential Patents and Internet of Things, commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of JURI committee

Press conference on the launch of the new website ' What Europe does for for me '

The European Parliament has called for urgent action to counter hate speech and hate crime.     
MEPs say they should be added to the list of so-called Euro-crimes, meaning common standards and sanctions across the EU.     

They want to extend the current EU framework - which covers hatred based on race, skin colour, religion and ethnicity - to include sex, sexual orientation, age and disability.    
 
Parliament also called for measures to stop the internet and social media being used to spread hate.

MEPs call for tough EU-wide rules to tackle hate speech and hate crime

MEPs vote on several texts: opening of negotiations on the Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders - Guillaume, Human rights situation in Afghanistan, in particular the persecution of former government officials - Motion for resolution, the case of Zarema Musaeva in Chechnya - Motion for resolution, Egypt, in particular the sentencing of Hisham Kassem - Motion for resolution, European green bonds - Tang, Scheme of generalised tariff preferences - Hautala, Financial services contracts concluded at a distance - Kokalari, Urban wastewater treatment. Recast - Torvalds, Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s attack - Motion for resolution, Taking stock of Moldova’s path to the EU - Motion for resolution, The new European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+) - Motion for resolution.

Voting session: Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders, the new European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+), taking stock of Moldova’s path to the EU

The infoclips illustrates the devices which fall under the requirements of the Cyber Resilience Act, like smart vacuum cleaners, smart washing machine, smart watches, security cameras, etc. The latest proposal in the EU Cyber Resilience Act Introduces mandatory cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements and it covers a broad range of devices - it would include all products that are connected either directly or indirectly to another device or network, including hardware, software and ancillary services and would impose obligations on manufacturers, importers, and distributors of these products to provide duty of care across their whole life cycle. The proposal aims to ensure better protection for consumers through increasing the responsibility of manufacturers by obliging them to provide security support and software updates to address identified vulnerabilities, and providing them with information about cybersecurity of products they buy and use.

Infoclip: EU Cyber Resilience Act, better protection for smart devices

The data act establishes common rules governing the sharing of data generated by the use of connected products or related services (e.g. the internet of things, industrial machines) to ensure fairness in data sharing contracts. Closing statements by Thierry BRETON, European Commissioner for Internal Market and by Pilar del CASTILLO VERA (EPP, ES), Rapporteur.

Data Act: closing statements by Thierry BRETON, European Commissioner for Internal Market and by Pilar del CASTILLO VERA (EPP, ES), Rapporteur

The data act establishes common rules governing the sharing of data generated by the use of connected products or related services (e.g. the internet of things, industrial machines) to ensure fairness in data sharing contracts. Second part of the debate.

Data Act: MEPs debate (part 2)

The data act establishes common rules governing the sharing of data generated by the use of connected products or related services (e.g. the internet of things, industrial machines) to ensure fairness in data sharing contracts. First part of the debate.

Data Act: MEPs debate (part 1)

The data act establishes common rules governing the sharing of data generated by the use of connected products or related services (e.g. the internet of things, industrial machines) to ensure fairness in data sharing contracts. Opening statements by Pilar del CASTILLO VERA (EPP, ES), Rapporteur, Adam BIELAN (ECR, PL), IMCO; Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO (S&D, ES), AFCO; Sergey LAGODINSKY (Greens/EFA, DE), LIBE and by Thierry BRETON, European Commissioner for Internal Market. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Data Act: opening statement by Pilar del CASTILLO VERA (EPP, ES), Rapporteur, Adam BIELAN (ECR, PL), Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO (S&D, ES), Sergey LAGODINSKY (Greens/EFA, DE), and by Thierry BRETON, European Commissioner for Internal Market

With internet and digital technologies playing an increasingly important role in our daily lives, the digitalisation of Europe has become one of the EU's priorities for the coming decade. But the progress made by the EU is uneven. There are clear differences across Europe as geographical conditions in some regions hinder the expansion of broadband internet or 5G. On the other side, older adults have also lagged behind the rest of the population in having the means and ability to use digital tools and the Internet. Closing this digital divide is of outmost importance to ensure a fair and efficient digital transition, and support Europe's approach to recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

EPRS - Bridging Europe's digital divide

The internet provides many opportunities for kids to learn and explore, to be creative or to interact with their friends and family, but it also entails many risks such as cyberbullying, age-inappropriate content, disinformation and sexual abuse. In May 2022, the European Commission published a new European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+). The new strategy contributes to the vision for the EU's digital transformation by 2030 and reflects the principle, 'Children and young people should be protected and empowered online'. Restrictions: ©The material may not be edited and must be shown entirely.

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