In 2015, the Council of Europe commissioned a Comparative study on “Blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal internet content” which examined the law and practice in the 47 Council of Europe member States relating to the regulation of online content. The study facilitated the identification of major areas of concern in existing legal and policy frameworks with respect to illegal content online. Its findings informed the preparation of CM Recommendation (2016)5 on internet freedom and CM Recommendation (2018)2 on the roles and responsibilities of internet intermediaries.
Since 2015 there have been important regulatory developments related to online expression in a number of member States. The Council of Europe is preparing updates on the relevant countries to maintain an accurate understanding of the most important challenges facing member States in respect of the regulation of online content. Today, the updates on Germany and the Russian Federation are published. Updates on France and Ukraine are currently in preparation.