Designation of competent authorities
1. Each Member State shall designate the authority or authorities competent to:
(a)
issue removal orders pursuant to Article 3;
(b)
scrutinise removal orders pursuant to Article 4;
(c)
oversee the implementation of specific measures pursuant to Article 5;
(d)
impose penalties pursuant to Article 18.
2. Each Member State shall ensure that a contact point is designated or established within the competent authority referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 to handle requests for clarification and feedback in relation to removal orders issued by that competent authority.
Member States shall ensure that the information on the contact point is made publicly available.
3. By 7 June 2022, Member States shall notify the Commission of the competent authority or authorities referred to in paragraph 1 and any modification thereof. The Commission shall publish the notification and any modification thereto in the Official Journal of the European Union .
4. By 7 June 2022, the Commission shall set up an online register listing the competent authorities referred to in paragraph 1 and the contact point designated or established pursuant to paragraph 2 for each competent authority. The Commission shall publish any modification thereto regularly.
Competent authorities
1. Member States shall ensure that their competent authorities have the necessary powers and sufficient resources to achieve the aims of and fulfil their obligations under this Regulation.
2. Member States shall ensure that their competent authorities carry out their tasks under this Regulation in an objective and non-discriminatory manner while fully respecting fundamental rights. Competent authorities shall not seek or take instructions from any other body in relation to the carrying out of their tasks under Article 12(1).
The first subparagraph shall not prevent supervision in accordance with national constitutional law.
Cooperation between hosting service providers, competent authorities and Europol
1. Competent authorities shall exchange information, coordinate and cooperate with each other and, where appropriate, with Europol, with regard to removal orders, in particular to avoid duplication of effort, enhance coordination and avoid interference with investigations in different Member States.
2. Competent authorities of Member States shall exchange information, coordinate and cooperate with the competent authorities referred to in points (c) and (d) of Article 12(1) with regard to specific measures taken pursuant to Article 5 and penalties imposed pursuant to Article 18. Member States shall ensure that the competent authorities referred to in points (c) and (d) of Article 12(1) are in possession of all the relevant information.
3. For the purposes of paragraph 1, Member States shall provide for the appropriate and secure communication channels or mechanisms to ensure that the relevant information is exchanged in a timely manner.
4. For the effective implementation of this Regulation as well as to avoid duplication of effort, Member States and hosting service providers may make use of dedicated tools, including those established by Europol, to facilitate in particular:
(a)
the processing and feedback relating to removal orders pursuant to Article 3; and
(b)
cooperation with a view to identifying and implementing specific measures pursuant to Article 5.
5. Where hosting service providers become aware of terrorist content involving an imminent threat to life, they shall promptly inform authorities competent for the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences in the Member States concerned. Where it is impossible to identify the Member States concerned, the hosting service providers shall notify the contact point pursuant to Article 12(2) in the Member State where they have their main establishment or where their legal representative resides or is established, and transmit information concerning that terrorist content to Europol for appropriate follow-up.
6. The competent authorities are encouraged to send copies of the removal orders to Europol to allow it to provide an annual report that includes an analysis of the types of terrorist content subject to an order to remove it or to disable access thereto pursuant to this Regulation.
Hosting service providers’ contact points
1. Each hosting service provider shall designate or establish a contact point for the receipt of removal orders by electronic means and their expeditious processing pursuant to Articles 3 and 4. The hosting service provider shall ensure that information about the contact point is made publicly available.
2. The information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall specify the official languages of the Union institutions referred to in Regulation 1/58 ( 15 ) in which the contact point can be addressed and in which further exchanges in relation to removal orders pursuant to Article 3 are to take place. Those languages shall include at least one of the official languages of the Member State where the hosting service provider has its main establishment or where its legal representative resides or is established.
