Fostering sustainability of Community Networks: Guidelines to Respect the European Legal Framework

Virginie Aubrée (1, 2) , Melanie Dulong de Rosnay (3)

1 UNITN - Università degli Studi di Trento = University of Trento
2 UPN DSP - Université Paris Nanterre - UFR Droit et science politique
3 ISCC - Institut des Sciences de la Communication du CNRS

This chapter proposes guidelines to help Community Networks (CNs) to cope with the applicable European legal framework and mitigate legal risks while protecting users' rights and enforcing core values such as privacy. It covers three main topics that are key to the activity of CNs: civil liability, data protection, data retention and provides concrete recommendations on the legal choices to be made, as well as suggestions for CN governance choices. The chapter is based on the analysis of the legislation and case law applicable to 'electronic communications services', 'electronic communications network', and 'services providers' of an 'information society service'. The legal analysis was informed by a survey, which gathered replies on the practices of CNs from six EU countries (France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Slovenia) in five main areas: organization, services offered, relationship with users, data protection and data retention law. The chapter presents our findings and recommendations in the areas of civil liability, data protection law, data retention, and makes governance recommendations to address these challenges and mitigate CNs legal risks.

Domains: Law

Virginie Aubrée, Melanie Dulong de Rosnay. Fostering sustainability of Community Networks: Guidelines to Respect the European Legal Framework. Luca Belli. The Community Network Manual: How to Build the Internet Yourself, FGV Direito Rio Edition, p. 177-188, 2018, 2018 Annual Report of the UN IGF Dynamic Coalition on Community Connectivity, 978-85-9597-029-8. ⟨halshs-01920655⟩