What happens next with upload filters in the EU after the CJEU copyright ruling
On 26 April, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgement on one of the most relevant cases for freedom of expression in recent years: Case C-401/19- Poland v Parliament and Council. The case was brought by Poland after the adoption of the controversial copyright Directive, and specifically because of its Article 17 that, according to EDRi and other civil society organisations, academics and politicians, could lead to mandatory use of upload filters on most online platforms.
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What happens next with upload filters in the EU after the CJEU copyright ruling
On 26 April, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgement on one of the most relevant cases for freedom of expression in recent years: Case C-401/19- Poland v Parliament and Council. The case was brought by Poland after the adoption of the controversial copyright Directive, and specifically because of its Article 17 that, according to EDRi and other civil society organisations, academics and politicians, could lead to mandatory use of upload filters on most online platforms.
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Copyright: European Court of Justice strictly limits the use of upload filters
“Today’s ruling sets an important precedent for the protection of freedom of expression online. Nevertheless, it does not go far enough. The European Court of Justice does not completely rule out the use of upload filters to enforce copyright on online platforms. At least, however, the court confirms what civil society has been emphasizing for years: upload filters are unable to reliably distinguish between copyright infringements and legitimate forms of free expression such as parodies or quotations. It is therefore right that the highest court limits the use of upload filters under Article 17 of the EU Copyright Directive to uploads that constitute manifest infringements, such as uploads of entire movies.”
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Transposition of the Copyright Directive in Spain
The transposition of the Copyright Directive in Spain has been done with no Parliament debate. While the political parties could ask for it, they will likely not do so for fear of conflicting with certain famous artists from the copyright lobby, who are lobbying for an extreme position on copyrights.
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European Commission ignores civil society concerns and sides with creative industries
Today is a sad day for Europe. Instead of listening to reason and arguments, the European Commission itself brought up in front of the CJEU, the backroom political influence of the entertainment industry has won once again. Clearly “earmarking” content means preferring the economic interests of a few powerful actors over the fundamental rights of a whole generation.
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Copyright Reform in Germany: Damage Reduction on Article 17
While waiting for the implementation guidelines from the European Commission and the CJEU ruling on whether upload filters are legal or not, some Member States are implementing the Directive. Germany has done some damage reduction in its implementation, according to former MEP and current GFF staff Felix Reda
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How Austria wants to implement upload filters and ancillary copyright
EDRi's member epicenter.works sheds light on the Austrian implementation of the controversial Copyright Directive passed in the EU Parliament in 2019. As positive as some draft provisions regarding upload filters are, the Austrian implementation of ancillary copyright is poor.
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Walking from Luxembourg to Brussels in two hours
A public hearing before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) last Tuesday, November 10, dealt with the compatibility of Article 17, more precisely the provisions of Article 17 that require platforms to block copyright infringements, with the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
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Upload filters? Still no, thanks
Together with thousands of protestors, EDRi has fought against mandatory upload filters in the Copyright Directive. Despite the Directive having been adopted, including the infamous Article 13 (now 17) that could lead to upload filters, the Directive allows for some flexibility to prevent the worst impacts on our freedom of expression.
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Keep private communications private
On 27 July, the European Commission published a Communication on a EU strategy for a more effective fight against child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The Communication indicates that messaging services (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger…) may see their privacy protections undermined under new legislation that will be proposed this week.
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First Analysis of the Austrian Anti-Hate Speech Law (NetDG/KoPlG)
On September 3rd the Austrian government released a legislative package to tackle online hate speech. Besides a comprehensive justice reform, the package also contains a bill that creates new obligations for online platforms to remove illegal user-generated content. This article offers a first analysis of the so called Kommunikationsplattformen-Gesetz (KoPl-G) and the many similarities it has to the German Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz (NetzDG).
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European Commission derails copyright reform in South Africa
Last year, the South African parliament adopted a progressive new copyright bill that would have drastically improved access to educational materials, introduced a fair use exception, implemented the Marrakesh treaty for the benefit of people who are blind or print disabled, and strengthened the negotiating positions of authors and performers in their negotiations with publishers.
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Control ©: defending free online communication through litigation
Former Member of the European Parliament Felix Reda has joined the EDRi member German Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF, Society for Civil Rights). The copyright reform activist will coordinate control ©, a new project to defend freedom of communication.
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