On 18 October 2019, following a court order (1) , Spanish Police from the Guardia Civil enforced the requirement for major internet operator companies to block websites (2) relating to Tsunami Democràtic (3) , which had organised some of the peaceful and mass demonstrations against the judicial verdict convicting Catalan leaders to between 9 and 13 years imprisonment for the self-determination referendum held on 1 October 2017. This is the second time that the Spanish Judiciary has blocked Catalan websites (4) .

Article 100 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 states that such national measures to block internet use must respect the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, while Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 states that they ‘are only to be imposed if they are appropriate, proportionate and necessary’.

Does the Commission believe that the aforementioned state measures contravene Article 100 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972?

Does it believe that the use of domain name system (DNS) blocking is proportionate in this particular case, as Article 3(3) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 requires it to be, and taking into account the potential risk of over-blocking?

Does it believe that these measures might compromise the rights to freedom of expression and information and of peaceful assembly as enshrined in Articles 11 and 12 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights?