The provisions of this Regulation concerning the exemptions from liability for providers of intermediary services and the exclusion of general monitoring obligations should not affect the possibility, under the applicable law, of enjoining providers of intermediary services to terminate or prevent infringements, nor does it affect the possibility for Member States to establish specific requirements which providers of those services must fulfil in order to benefit from the exemptions from liability. Those requirements include in particular the observance of a duty of care that can reasonably be expected from the provider of the service in order to detect and prevent certain types of illegal activities. The provider can be expected to comply with a duty of care only if the provider has knowledge or awareness of the relevant illegal activity. This obligation does not include a general obligation of the intermediary service provider to monitor the information which it transmits or stores, or to actively seek out facts or circumstances indicating illegal activity. This Regulation should not be understood as requiring the provision of information by competent authorities where the information is classified for reasons of national or public security or defence, nor should it affect the ability of Member States to safeguard their essential security interests. The limitations and exclusions regarding certain intermediary service providers' obligations under this Regulation are without prejudice to a court or an administrative authority requesting a service provider to terminate or prevent an infringement in accordance with the law of the Member State concerned.