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A challenge that raised awareness among the Ministers of the Council of Europe

At a time when the debate on online security is intensifying across Europe, the Council of Europe’s recent position serves as a reminder of a fundamental principle of the digital society: protecting citizens cannot mean compromising the fundamental rights that are essential to a free, open and pluralistic Internet.

The Recommendation CM/Rec(2026)4L, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe last April, represents far more than a technical or legal document. It is a political and strategic signal about the future of European digital governance and about how we should balance security, freedom and responsibility in an increasingly complex digital ecosystem. 

It is precisely here that one of the Recommendation’s most significant points emerges: online security cannot be built on simplistic or disproportionate solutions.

The Council of Europe clearly warns of the risk that overly restrictive measures may undermine freedom of expression, access to information and the functioning of democratic debate. It does so at a particularly important moment, as different jurisdictions seek to strengthen enforcement and regulatory mechanisms in the digital space.

The message is clear: any restriction on online content or services must comply with the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality. 

This principle becomes particularly relevant when discussing measures to block websites, services or domain names. The Recommendation considers the complete blocking of an online service to be a particularly serious interference with freedom of expression and therefore argues that such measures should be reserved for truly exceptional circumstances, subject to judicial oversight and accompanied by appropriate procedural safeguards.

Blocking a domain name, restricting a service or imposing broad monitoring obligations may, at first glance, appear to be an effective and immediate response. However, disproportionate measures can lead to what is known as overblocking — the removal or restriction of entirely legitimate content—with direct consequences for citizens, businesses, content creators and ultimately for trust in the digital environment itself.

The challenge, therefore, lies in finding the right balance, and any framework for accountability must be based on clear, proportionate and legally solid criteria.

But perhaps the most significant aspect of this Recommendation lies elsewhere: the recognition of user empowerment as a central pillar of online security.

For many years, the debate on digital security focused primarily on the logic of restriction—removing, blocking and limiting. Today, it is becoming increasingly clear that a more secure Internet cannot be built through prohibition alone. It must also be built through education, transparency, digital literacy and the development of mechanisms that enable users to better understand the digital environments in which they participate.