The European Commission has asked Malta to prove that it is respecting EU-wide rules concerning the control of online terrorist content.
The Terrorist Content Online Regulation, which came into effect last June, requires internet hosting service providers to remove terrorist content within one hour of being notified about it by member states.
The rules apply to all hosting services, including social media platforms, websites and audio or visual sharing services.
But it appears the vast majority of member states have yet to align themselves with the new law.
On Thursday, the European Commission said that it has sent letters of formal notice to 22 member states, including Malta, for failing to comply with various obligations within the regulation.
A letter of formal notice is a request for a country to provide further information showing that it is in line with EU rules.
Among the suspected shortcomings identified by Brussels are a failure to designate the authority responsible for issuing removal orders for terrorist content, a failure to name a public contact point for such issues and a failure to lay down rules and penalties for non-compliance with the rules.
According to the EU regulation, member states can fine service providers that fail to remove content within the stipulated timeframes up to 4% of their global turnover and must inform the European Commission about the measures they have adopted to implement the rules and prevent terrorist content online.
The only member states to be in line with the EU rules are Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary and Slovakia.
“Today's decision intends to ensure that Member States concerned adapt their national rules as quickly as possible to the EU legislation,” the Commission said in a statement.
Member States that have been sent a letter of formal notice now have two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission.
If their response is deemed unsatisfactory, the Commission may decide to issue what is known as a reasoned opinion, or formal request to comply with the law. If that is not respected, the Commission can then file legal proceedings against member states before the European Court of Justice.