May 27, 2018
News
German Supreme Court Upholds Blocking Orders
March 24, 2016
The Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof), the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction in Germany, decided on actions against internet service providers over access to websites linking to
Review Portals Have to Verify Anonymous User Reviews, Says the German Supreme Court
March 24, 2016
In a recent decision, the Federal Court of Justice ( Bundesgerichtshof ), the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction in Germany, established a case of intermediary liability for
April 2018 WILMap Updates
April 27, 2018
News Russia to block Telegram app over encryption April 13, 2018 A court in Moscow has approved a request from the Russian media regulator to block the Telegram messaging app
UK government reveals machine learning tool that detects extremist content online
February 13, 2018
On February 13, 2018, UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced that the UK government had developed a machine learning tool that automatically detects extremist content created by the Islamic State
German Regional Court rules Facebook’s real name policy is illegal
February 12, 2018
On February 12, 2018, the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBZ) announced that the Berlin Regional Court had ruled on January 16 that Facebook's policy to require users to register
Russian telecommunications regulator threatens to block access to YouTube and Instagram if they do not remove content related to Russian businessman
February 10, 2018
On February 10, 2018, Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor required YouTube and Instagram to remove content related to Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska or face a block on Russian ISPs. Read more
German court rules Google does not have to pro-actively delist websites containing defamatory content
February 27, 2018
On February 27, 2018, the German Federal Court of Justice ruled that Google cannot be held liable for listing websites containing defamatory material in search engine results. Read more at
US House of Representatives passes FOSTA, which would make intermediaries liable for hosting content linked to sex-trafficking
February 27, 2018
On February 27, 2018, the US House of Representatives passed the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) , which would make websites criminally liable for
EU Commissioner: Facebook, Google, Twitter need to do more to make their terms and conditions compliant with EU consumer rules
February 15, 2018
On February 15, 2018, EU Commissioner for Justice Vera Jourova said that social media platforms Facebook, Google and Twitter should do more to make their terms and conditions compliant with
US Court of Appeals rules that ISP is not protected by safe harbor provision for failing to implement repeat infringer policy
February 1, 2018
On February 1, 2018, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued its decision in the BMG v. Cox case, ruling that the ISP Cox was not protected
Canadian Telecommunications coalition proposes framework to block access to copyright-infringing websites without judicial review
February 1, 2018
On February 1, 2018, it was reported that FairPlay Canada, a coalition of Canada's largest communications and media companies, had filed an application with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Chinese regulator warns major internet companies about inadequate moderation of obscene content
February 7, 2018
On February 7, 2018 , it was reported that the Chinese regulator combating the spread of vulgar and obscene content online criticized major Chinese internet companies Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu
French Minister of Culture specifies aspects of upcoming anti-misinformation law
February 4, 2018
In an interview published on February 4, 2018, French Minister of Culture Françoise Nyssen specified that the upcoming law against misinformation, announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in January 2018,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel signals willingness to amend anti-hate speech law NetzDG
February 3, 2018
On February 3, 2018, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she was "looking at what consequences [the anti-hate speech law NetzDG] had and what happens, and we'll definitely evaluate it
YouTube announces new policy to combat videos harmful to viewers
February 9, 2018
On February 9, 2018, YouTube announced in a blogpost that it would implement new policies regarding content "harmful to viewers, others in the YouTube community, or advertisers". Read more at
Russia: 500 websites blocked since simplified procedure came into force in late 2017
February 4, 2018
On February 4, 2018, it was reported that Russia's Deputy Minister of Communications Alexei Volin announced that since the entry into force in October 2017 of a law introducing a
Indonesia plans to launch automated flag system to better detect pornography and extremist content online
November 8, 2017
On November 8, 2017, the Ministry of Communications of Indonesia announced that it would launch in January 2018 an automated system to flag and block websites or messaging services displaying
Twitter announces that it is being blocked by the Pakistani government
November 25, 2017
On November 25, 2017, Twitter stated that the Pakistani government had "taken action to block Twitter service, as well as other social media services." Read more at the I&J Retrospect
Pakistani telecommunication regulator forms committee to monitor and block blasphemous content online
October 24, 2017
On October 24, 2017, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced to the Standing Committee on Information Technology of the National Assembly that it was forming a high-level committee to monitor
Togo shuts down WhatsApp and slows down internet access as anti-government protests intensify
September 6, 2017
On September 6, 2017, it was reported that access to Facebook and WhatsApp was difficult in Togo, before all mobile internet was reportedly shut down. Read more at the I&J
Australian registry suspends domain of far-right website as The Daily Stormer finds agreement with Icelandic hosting provider
September 18, 2017
On September 18, 2017, far-right website Gab.ai published a letter it received from its domain registrar ASIA Registry, in which it warned the website that it would cancel its domain
Peru and the Netherlands order access to pirate websites to be blocked
September 25, 2017
On September 25, 2017, for the first time in the country’s history, a Peruvian prosecutor ordered that three copyright-infringing websites popular in Latin America be raided, their physical assets seized,
Sri Lanka to lift social media ban
March 13, 2018
Sri Lanka is likely to lift a ban on social media networks this week, a government minister said on Tuesday, almost a week after blocking access to prevent the spread
Singapore to Fight Fake News the Way It Fights Drugs
March 13, 2018
Singapore intends to treat fake news with the same comprehensive approach as it does illicit drugs while allowing space for a “robust” discourse, according to a cabinet minister involved in
Istanbul taxi drivers go to court to seek shutdown of Uber
March 16, 2018
Istanbul’s taxi drivers have taken Uber to court, accusing the U.S.-based ride-hailing app of endangering their livelihoods in a case that could crimp its business in Europe’s largest city. Read
Section 230 Doesn’t Prevent City Regulation of Short-Term Rental Services (Again)–HomeAway v. Santa Monica
March 14, 2018
See Eric Goldman’s Technology and Marketing Blog .
Following Questionable Election, Honduran Government Debuts New Censorship Law
April 19, 2018
The masterplan for censorship: follow up a highly-questionable election with a "cybersecurity" law granting the government power to shut down critics and dissenting views. That's what's happening in Honduras, following
Can YouTube be primarily liable for users' infringements?
May 14, 2018
Can YouTube be considered primarily responsible (and, therefore, potentially liable) for the making available of user-uploaded content through its platform? In other words: can YouTube be considered as directly making
Blocking order issued in Germany to prevent copyright infringement.
May 15, 2018
A recent decision of the Munich Regional Court marks the first-ever blocking order in Germany against a copyright infringing website (judgment of 1 February 2018 – BeckRS 2018, 2857). Read
Facebook Publishes Enforcement Numbers for the First Time
May 15, 2018
Facebook has released it's first Community Standards Enforcement Report . Read more at Facebook Newsroom .
EU-US Comparison & Guide On Copyright Link Liability – An Update
May 9, 2018
In announcing their new post, Ed Klaris and Alexia Bedat state: “An update to our article reviewing US and European law/recent developments in link liability in both the copyright and
Russian court orders block of Telegram, regulator blocks millions of IP addresses belonging to Google and Amazon
April 13, 2018
On April 13, 2018, a Russian court ordered that access to the messaging service Telegram be blocked in Russia, following the platform's repeated refusal to hand over its encryption keys
Canada: Regional court upholds Equustek decision requiring Google to globally delist search results in spite of US court decision
April 16, 2018
On April 16, 2018, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada, issued a decision denying Google's request to change an injunction requiring it to delist search engine results globally in
UK Court rules in favor of claimant in right to be de-indexed case for first time in UK history
April 13, 2018
On April 13, 2018, the High Court of London, United Kingdom, ruled in favor of a claimant, known as NT2, after he had sued Google for refusing to de-list search
Russian regulator says Facebook will be blocked unless it complies with data localization requirements
April 18, 2018
In an interview published on April 18, 2018, the head of Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor stated that Facebook could be blocked if the platform does not show compliance with Russian
Facebook releases community standards for content moderation, introduces appeal process for content removal
April 24, 2018
On April 24, 2018, Facebook released a rulebook explaining its community standards for content moderation, which the platform indicated is exactly the one used by the company's moderators around the
YouTube, Microsoft and Twitter release transparency reports
April 24, 2018
On April 24, 2018, YouTube published its first “enforcement report”, detailing its content removal practices during the last quarter of 2017. The report shows that over 80% of the 8.2
Japan government asks ISPs to voluntarily block websites offering access to copyright infringing content
April 13, 2018
On April 13, 2018, the Japanese government decided on an emergency measure to restrict access to websites providing copyright-infringing access to anime and manga, asking for help from internet service
German court orders Facebook to unblock user account and comment that violated community guidelines
April 13, 2018
On April 13, 2018, it was reported that the Berlin District Court had issued a preliminary injunction ordering Facebook not to block a user nor to delete a comment that
Brazilian court fines Facebook 26 million euros for having failed to hand over WhatsApp messages in investigation
April 5, 2018
On April 5, 2018, a Brazilian court fined Facebook Inc. 111.7 million reals (over 26 million euros), for having failed to hand over WhatsApp messages to prosecutors, as part of
Joint Communication by UN and OAS Special Rapporteurs
May 16, 2018
In April 2018, the OAS’ Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Entries
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta v Muchemi Wachira and Nation Media Group
High Court of Kenya at Nairobi
The defamatory material for which Nation Media Group (NMG) was found liable consisted partly of comments posted on the NMG’s website by members of the public in response to a
Duncan Muriuki V. Baobab Resort, Petition no. 223 of 2012
High Court of Kenya at Nairobi
This is an ongoing case where the plaintiff complained that some words published on the hotel’s Facebook page were defamatory. Interlocutory order was obtained requiring the respondent to remove infringing
Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill
Draft bill introduced into Parliament, March 29, 2018. Draft Bill on Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech ( 1 ) establishing the concept of hate crime in
HIPCAR Project (Enhancing competitiveness in the Caribbean through the harmonization of ICT Policies, Legislation and Regulatory Procedures)
In 2009, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) funded the HIPCAR Project (Enhancing competitiveness in the Caribbean through the harmonization of ICT Policies, Legislation and Regulatory Procedures). The beneficiary countries were
Regional Model Policies and Regulations on Electronic Transactions
The HIPCAR Project resulted in ‘Regional Model Policies and Regulations’. For most Caribbean States with recent legislation, the Electronic Transactions Act (and hence Intermediary Liability) generally resembles this model legislation.
Oriental Press Group Ltd. v. Fevaworks Solutions Ltd, HKCFA 47
Court of Final Appeals
Holding online intermediaries of discussion forums as secondary publishers with liabilities imposed from outset, who also have the duties to monitor and take active actions when noticed of defamatory activities
Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, No. 167/2012
Supreme Court
( 1 ) The Supreme Court of India issued a landmark decision regarding the constitutionality of several provisions included in the Indian Information Technology Act ("IT Act"). The provisions dealt
Animal Hospital Case
Supreme Court of Japan
Channel 2, a Japanese bulletin board, has tried to invoke the safe harbor in an online libel actions, claiming that as an operator it could not know or reasonably know
NiftyServe Modern Thought Forum Case
Tokyo High Court Decision (reversing Tokyo District Court, May 27, 1997)
( 1 ) The issue of whether a party which merely administers or maintains a website or other online forums in which users or attendees committed illegal activities may be
Toritsu University case
Tokyo District Court.
( 1 ) In this case, an individual placed on a university’s website, a webpage that contained defamation of another. The plaintiff sought damages against both the one who built
Copyright Act, last amended by Act No. 12137
( 1 ) Article 102 provides safe harbor for intermediaries from third party copyright infringement. The provision was amended twice in 2011 first to reflect the Korea-EU FTA and then
Copyright Notice Scheme – Industry Code
Pending registration under the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth)
An industry-negotiated graduated response Code was submitted to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for registration as an industry code under the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) on 8 April
Piscioneri v Brisciani [2015] ACTSC 106
Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
The proprietor of an online discussion forum was held liable in defamation for posts made by himself and third parties about the plaintiff. The self-represented defendant was found to be
Bleyer v. Google Inc. [2014] NSWSC 897
Supreme Court of New South Wales
Bleyer brought a claim in defamation against Google on the basis of its organic search results. The New South Wales Supreme Court dismissed the claim on summary judgment on the
Visscher v. Maritime Union of Australia (No 6) [2014] NSWSC 350
Supreme Court of New South Wales.
New South Wales Supreme Court found the Maritime Union was liable for publishing defamatory imputations when it hyperlinked to a third party webpage. The Court held that the words “Read
Supreme Court of Victoria, Trkulja v. Google Inc. & Anor [2012] VSC 533
Plaintiff’s personal information and photos in Google’s search engine were displayed together with pictures of major known criminals in Melburne, Australia. Plaintiff sued Google for defamation and required the content
Rana v. Google Australia Pty. Ltd. and Google Inc. [2013] FCA 60
Federal Court of Australia.
Rana claimed damages from Google Australia and Google Inc. in defamation for publishing links to defamatory websites in its search results. The Federal Court granted summary judgment to Google Australia,
Murray v Wishart [2014] 3 NZLR 722, [2014] NZCA 461
Court of Appeal
( 1 ) Wishart (Respondent) was the author of a book about Macsyna King. Wishart sought damages for defamation arising from comments by Murray made on a Facebook page established
A v Google New Zealand Ltd [2012] NZHC 2352
High Court
( 1 ) Successful application by Google for defendant summary judgment; unsuccessful application for strike out by Google on basis Google was not a publisher; unsuccessful application for plaintiff summary
Sadiq v Baycorp (NZ) Ltd HC Auckland CIV-2007-404-6421
High Court
( 1 ) The plaintiff, Sadiq, issued defamation and negligence proceedings against two parties, arising out of allegedly defamatory statements published on a credit reporting website. The issue for determination
Case No. 3-2-1-43-09 (Delfi case)
Supreme Court, Civil.
( 1 ) The case arose when a popular news portal (Delfi) in Estonia published an article about the ferry connection with the islands in Estonia. The news portal enabled
Case No. 2-08-76058/74
Circuit Court of Tallinn, Civil.
( 1 ) The court ruled that the news portal that enabled commenting news articles published at its websites did not act neutrally (the activities of the ISP were not
Case No. 2-05-22224/34
Harju County Court of Harju, Civil,
The court found that news portals which enabled uncensored commenting at its website were not liable for the activities of the users of the news portal under Sections 10 and
Oberster Gerichtshof, 6 Ob 133/13x
January 23, 2014 (later confirmed in 6 Ob 188/14m, December 15, 2014 and 6 Ob 145/14p, February 19, 2015)
( 1 ) An Austrian politician sued the publisher of an online newspaper for disclosure of the names and email addresses of users who posted allegedly infringing comments in the
Oberster Gerichtshof, 6 Ob 190/03i
( 1 ) An Austrian Bishop claimed that an online newspaper article infringed his personality rights. He sued the newspaper publisher for injunctive relief. The defendant claimed that he is
Prolux, 3 Cmo 197/2010-82
Higher Court in Prague, Court of Appeals, Civil
The Court accepted the liability of a discussion forum provider for user comments. Unknown users posted several libelous statements on the website. The discussion provider refused to take them down,
Blogme.gr case
Plimmeleiodikeio Athinon [Athens Magistrates Court]
( 1 ) The court acquitted the administrator of a blog aggregator website, after a Greek TV personality sued him for defamation and indecency over comments posted about him on
Directive 2000/31/EC on Certain Legal Aspects of Information Society Services, in particular Electronic Commerce, in the Internal Market
( 1 ) Articles from 12 to 15 provides mere conduit, caching, and hosting exemptions for intermediaries, together with the exclusion of a general obligation on access, hosting and caching
Sotiris Papasavvas v O Fileleftheros Dimosia Etaireia Ltd and Others.
European Court of Justice, C-291/13.
The ECJ clarified the notion of "information society services" within the meaning of the Directive 2000/31/EC and the application of rules of civil liability for defamation to those intermediaries. The
Google Spain SL and Google Inc. v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD) and Mario Costeja González
European Court of Justice, C-131/12,
( 1 ) ruling that "an internet search engine operator is responsible for the processing that it carries out of personal data which appear on web pages published by third
Copyright Act 404/1961, July 8, 1961
As in force from June 1, 2015
Section 60a empowers a court to order an intermediary of those users to disclose information of subscribers who make copyrighted content available to the public "to a significant extent". Section
Estelle Halliday v. Valentin Lacambre
Paris Court of Appeals, 14th ch., February 10, 1999 (Gaz. Pal. 5-6 April 2000, jurisp. 19)
early case law re. ISP liability (before e-commerce Directive) : holding hosting provider liable for hosting nude or semi-nude photos of famous actress.
Hotelbewertungsportal, I ZR 94/13
Bundesgerichtshof [Federal Court of Justice of Germany], First Civil Section,
The court ruled that online travel agencies are not liable for the accuracy of user-generated ratings on their web pages. First, anonymous remarks in a review cannot be ascribed to
Google Autocomplete, VI ZR 269/12
Bundesgerichtshof [Federal Court of Justice of Germany], Sixth Civil Section,
The prediction of certain negative terms within the autocomplete function of the Google’s search engine is likely to violate personality rights. Google is not privileged by § 10 TMG because
Katzenfreund, VI ZR 101/06
Bundesgerichtshof [Federal Court of Justice of Germany], Sixth Civil Section
The Court accepted an injunction against an Internet forum operator whose user was found to commit libel on the service. The court noted that even if the operator did not
Internetversteigerung II, I ZR 35/04
Bundesgerichtshof [Federal Court of Justice of Germany], First Civil Section
The Court confirmed that an injunction against a disturber is available when no third party infringement was committed, but is feared. The Court recalled that injunctions should not lead to
324 O 660/12
Landgericht Hamburg [District Court of Hamburg], Civil,
The plaintiff, an entrepreneur, alleged that the German google-webpage contained a “snippet” from a third-party’s blog which suggested that the plaintiff had owned a brothel. In German legal language, a
Wikimedia, 4 U 78/13
Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart [Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart], Civil,
The plaintiff, a TV station owner, alleged that the German-language Wikipedia article about him contained inaccurate information. The Court ruled that Wikimedia is a “service provider” and not a “content
Walsh v Twitter
High Court of Ireland
( 1 ) Twitter International Company was ordered to disclose data about the source of tweets about a whistleblower. The tweets, which included allegations of insurance fraud, are alleged to
Cummins v Twitter
High Court of Ireland
The High Court ordered that Twitter remove defamatory posts concerning the mayor of Waterford. The order was made under s.33 of the Defamation Act 2009.
Tansey v Gill [2012] IEHC 42
High Court of Ireland
The plaintiff claimed he had been defamed on the website www.rate-your-solicitor.com . He successfully sought interlocutory orders under s.33 of the Defamation Act 2009 against certain defendants prohibiting publication of
McKeogh v Doe [2012] IEHC 95
High Court of Ireland
The plaintiff had wrongly been identified as the taxi fare evader shown in a video posted on various websites. The judgment primarily concerns the issue of whether the plaintiff could
Mulvaney v Sporting Exchange trading as Betfair [2009] IEHC 133
High Court
Betfair was a gambling site which also operated internet forums (chatrooms) where users could discuss sports events and other issues. The plaintiffs alleged defamation by forum users. As a preliminary
Civil Case, 31/2010
Tribunal d'arrondissement [District Court]
recalling that the liability for any infringement committed by way of a media lies on the contributor, if known, or by default, on the editor, or by default, on the
Antonio Angelucci and Giampaolo Angelucci v. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. Italia, 70572/09
Tribunale di Roma [Tribunal of Rome], Civil.
( 1 ) Italian politicians Antonio Angelucci and his son claimed that Wikipedia pages related to the Angeluccis contained false statements supposedly harming the family’s reputation. The allegedly defamatory statements
Previti v. Wikimedia, 12262/13
Tribunale di Roma [Tribunal of Rome], Civil, IP Specialized Section.
Ruling against the plaintiff - who claimed that Wikipedia was responsible for the inaccurate and defamatory statements posted by individual users on the page devoted to him. The court found
Paoletti et all v. Google, 68306/12
Tribunale di Milano [Tribunal of Milan], Civil.
Reversing its previous decision of March 24, 2011 on the liability of search engines for the results generated by the "auto-complete" function. The court resoned that those results are not
Civil Case No. 3K-3-49/2013
Supreme Court of Lithuania
( 1 ) Applicants sought the court to declare information disseminated on a website as false, offending honour and dignity and business reputation and to adjudge non-pecuniary damages. ( 2
Civil Case No. 3K-3-479/2012
Supreme Court of Lithuania
( 1 ) The case focused on a take down request against a service provider that hosted a website dedicated to publishing consumers’ complaints. The claimant requested to disable publication
Lycos v. Pessers, ECLI:NL:HR:2005:AU4019
Hoge Raad [Dutch Supreme Court], Civil law
The Dutch Supreme Court confirmed a Court of Appeals decision holding that even when a hosting provider itself does not commit a tort by refusing to delete defamatory information on
Dariusz B. v the City of E., IV CSK 665/10
Supreme Court, Civil Chamber (Restricted Access Version Available)
Providing open access to the Internet does not result in liability for content uploaded by anonymous users. The case was filed by Darius B. who anonymously posted a letter to
Federal Law No. 364-FZ ("Anti-Piracy Law")
Amending Federal Law “On Information, Information Technologies, and Data Protection” and Civil Procedural Code of the Russian Federation
( 1 ) The law specified and extended the application of judicial and administrative enforcement mechanisms, earlier introduced by Federal Law No.187-FZ , from movies to all copyright objects, except
Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation,
Regulation for identified access to public WiFi
This resolution was adopted pursuant to the anti-terrorism package of bills and ( 1 ) establishes that ISPs should identify Internet users, by means of identity documents (such as passport);
Federal Law No. 242-FZ.
Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation as to the Clarification of the Processing of Personal Data in Information and Telecommunications Networks
( 1 ) The law that came into effect on September 1, 2015. It requires that the processing of personal data of Russian citizens be conducted with the use of
Federal Law No. 97-FZ (Bloggers Law)
Amending Federal Law “On Information, Information Technologies and Protection of Information” and Other Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Concerning Putting in Order Information Exchange Using Information and Telecommunication Networks
( 1 ) The law requires that bloggers (owners of sites with more than 3000 daily visitors) refrain from using their blog for illegal activities, ensure correctness of published information,
Federal Law No. 433-FZ, December, 20, 2013 and Federal Law No. 274-FZ, July, 21, 2014
Amendments to Criminal code of the Russian Federation (setting criminal liability for calls for separatism made in the Internet)
These laws establish criminal liability for public calls for actions aimed at violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. If such kind of call is made in the global
Federal Law No. 187-FZ.
Amending Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Concerning the Questions of Protection of Intellectual Rights in Information and Telecommunication Networks
( 1 ) The law sought to strengthen the protection of motion pictures online and introduced amendments to the Civil Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Arbitrazh (Commercial) Procedure Code,
Federal Law No. 139-FZ. (“Blacklist law”)
On the Protection of Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development and Other Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation
( 1 ) Positioned as means for the protection of children from harmful content that contains information about drug usage, advocates suicide or describes suicide methods, or contain child pornography,
Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Part Four)
( 1 ) Article 1253.1 of the Civil Code, introduced by Federal Law No. 187-FZ of July 2, 2013, defines “information intermediary” as “an entity that carries out the transmission
Constitution of the Russian Federation,
[English version]
Article 29. 1. Everyone shall be guaranteed the freedom of ideas and speech. 2. The propaganda or agitation instigating social, racial, national or religious hatred and strife shall not be
Federal Law No. 149-FZ, on Information, Information Technologies and Protection of Information.
( 1 ) Article 17 of the Law establishes general principles of intermediary liability for distribution of illegal information (other than IP) by exempting intermediaries from civil liability subject to
Federal Law No. 2121-1, on Mass Media.
( 1 ) The law requires that "mass media" businesses be registered with the applicable governmental authority. The registration process is cumbersome and enables the government to exert direct and
Deputy State Prosecutor for the Pskov Region v. Rostelecom
Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.
The Roskomnadzor is an administrative body competent to request telecoms operators to block access to website featuring content that violate miscellaneous pieces of legislation (see above) and competent to keep
Kontent I Pravo v. Masterhost
At the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation.
In this case, Kontent I Pravo claimed that its rights to copyright objects, uploaded by third parties on the website that was hosted on servers provided by Masterhost, were violated.
Deregulation Act 2015 c. 20
Section 56 of this Act repeals sections 17 and 18 of the Digital Economy Act 2010 (which warranted the introduction of specific website blocking injunctions, see below).
Serious Crime Act 2015 c. 9
Section 69(1) of the Act provides that “it is an offence to be in possession of any item that contains advice or guidance about abusing children sexually.” Schedule 3 of
Regulations 2013/3028, Defamation (Operators of Websites)
These regulations are supplementary to section 5 of the Defamation Act 2013 (see below). Among others, they specify the characteristics of a valid notice of infringement, as well as require
Defamation Act 2013 c. 26
Section 5 of the Act sets out a new defence from liability in defamation, for the benefit of website operators. By virtue of this provision, such intermediaries are exempt from
Digital Economy Act 2010 c. 24
The DEA 2010 introduced two key procedures aimed at reducing online piracy through the “graduated response” approach – procedures labelled as the “initial obligations” and the “obligations to limit Internet
Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002/2013
The E-Commerce Regulations implement the E-Commerce Directive into the UK law, with the three liability “safe harbours” being transplanted through regs. 17, 18 and 19 of the Regulations in an
Defamation Act 1996 c. 31
Section 1 of the Defamation Act sets out a defence against liability in defamation, on which online intermediaries might try to rely on. Section 1 states that a defendant in
Trademarks Act 1994 c. 26
This piece of legislation implements the Council Directive 89/104/EEC, and in doing so, sets out in section 10 what counts as trademark infringement within the UK law. This provision might
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 c. 48
The sizeable CDPA 1988 contains quite a few provisions related to intermediary liability. First of all, Sections 16 to 26 set out the definitions of various copyright infringing acts –
Creative Content UK
A programme based on the “notice & notice” variant of the graduated response approach. UK ISPs have agreed to send educational notices to P2P filesharers who are found by the
CBS Songs Ltd v Amstrad Consumer Electronics Plc [1988] UKHL 15
The decision in CBS v Amstrad is a leading authority on joint tort liability and authorisation liability of intermediaries facilitating the copyright-infringing actions of their users. In this case, a
Cartier International Ltd v British Telecommunications Plc [2016] EWHC 339 (Ch)
A blocking injunction was awarded against several further websites which facilitated the trade in goods infringing the claimant’s trademark; the criteria set out in the first Cartier case were successfully
Mosley v Google [2015] EWHC 59 (QB)
The claimant brought a claim against Google under art. 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998 in order to oblige the search engine to disable access to pictures infringing on
Google Inc v Vidal-Hall [2015] EWCA Civ 311
Google was found to be using tracking cookies in order to secretly obtain data about its users’ online activity. A group of the latter sought to obtain corresponding damages for
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v Sky UK Ltd [2015] EWHC 1082 (Ch)
The claimants applied for a “Newzbin 2” blocking order against websites which made available and facilitated the use of the so called Popcorn Time applications (used for BitTorrent-based, illegal streaming
1967 v B Sky B [2014] EWHC 3444 (Ch)
Another “Newzbin 2” injunction case – an application was granted against 21 torrent websites. It is worth to add that the CJEU case C-466/12 Svensson, and its impact on the
Clark v TripAdvisor LLC [2014] CSIH 110
A Scottish case, in which the claiming guest house owners were refused a court order which would oblige TripAdvisor - a US-based company – to disclose the personal data of
Omnibill (PTY) Ltd v Egpsxxx Ltd (In Liquidation) [2014] EWHC 3762 (IPEC)
An owner of a website advertising escort services in South Africa found out that the UK copyright-protected pictures from his website were placed on his competitor’s website. The latter party
Cartier International AG v British Sky Broadcasting Ltd [2014] EWHC 3765 (Ch)
A case following the initial Cartier decision. It was found that the IP address-based blockade of websites targeted in the initial court order may disable access to other websites using
Cartier International AG v British Sky Broadcasting Ltd [2014] EWHC 3354 (Ch)
A UK court issued a blocking order in a case involving an attempt to combat trademark infringement rather than copyright infringement. The Court noted that there is no statutory counterpart
Paramount Home Entertainment International Ltd v British Sky Broad-casting Ltd [2013] EWHC 3479 (Ch)
A successful application for a “Newzbin 2” blocking injunction against two streaming websites (SolarMovie and TubePlus), which were found to facilitate copyright-infringing activities.
EMI Records Ltd v British Sky Broadcasting Ltd [2013] EWHC 379 (Ch)
A successful application for a “Newzbin 2” blocking injunction against two streaming websites (SolarMovie and TubePlus), which were found to facilitate copyright-infringing activities.
Football Association Premier League Ltd v British Sky Broadcasting Ltd & Others [2013] EWHC 2058 (Ch)
A successful application for a “Newzbin 2” blocking injunction against a football streaming website known as FirstRow Sports, which was found to facilitate copyright-infringing activities. For details, see the CIS
Dramatico Entertainment v British Sky Broadcasting (No. 2) [2012] EWHC 1152 (Ch)
A successful application made against six largest ISPs in the UK for a “Newzbin 2” blocking injunction (see below) aimed at The Pirate Bay.
Dramatico Entertainment Ltd v British Sky Broadcasting Ltd (No. 1) [2012] EWHC 268 (Ch)
Both users and operators of The Pirate Bay were found to be engaging in activities infringing the claimants’ copyrights. A preliminary case to the ( No. 2) described above.
Davison v Habeeb and others [2011] EWHC 3031 (QB)
This case concerned a defamatory blog post which appeared on Blogger.com, a website operated by Google. The claimant sought to make Google liable as a publisher of the defamatory statement.
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp v British Telecommunications plc [2011] EWHC 1981 (Ch)
The “Newzbin 2” case. Shortly after the decision in Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp v Newzbin Ltd 2010 (described below), the Usenet indexing service was reactivated as Newzbin2. Upon noticing
ITV Broadcasting Ltd v TV Catchup Ltd [2011] EWHC 1874 (Pat)
The defendant operated a website based on free, unauthorised live streaming of television programmes; including those protected by the claimant’s copyright. It was provisionally decided that the defendant’s service did
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp v Newzbin Ltd [2010] EWHC 608 (Ch)
Known as the “Newzbin 1” case. The operators of a Usenet indexing website (which was found to have been used for the illegal exchange of copyrighted movies) were found to
Kaschke v Gray [2010] EWHC 690 (QB)
The case revolved around the liability of a blog owner for the defamatory comment posted on his website. It was held that checking the spelling and grammar of such user-generated
R. v Allan Ellis T20087573 (2010)
Middlesborough Crown Court
On the basis of the infringing activities occurring on his website, the operator of Oink’s Pink Palace (which was a BitTorrent-oriented music sharing website running a torrent tracker) was charged
R. v Rock and Overton (2010) T20087573
Gloucester Crown Court
The operator of a website known as TV Links (which facilitated copyright-infringing activities by hosting links to 3rd party streaming websites) was charged with conspiracy to defraud. The judge initially
L’Oreal v eBay [2009] EWHC 1094 (Ch)
Operator of an auction website was not found liable in joint tort liability for failing to prevent trademark-infringing actions of its users, who sold counterfeit goods bearing the claimant’s trademark
Metropolitan International Schools Ltd v Designtechnica Corp [2009] EWHC 1765 Q.B.
This case was triggered by the appearance of defamatory comments on an online bulletin board, provided by the website operated by the first defendant. Apart from bringing the case against
Bunt v Tilley [2006] EWHC 407 (QB)
This case saw three British ISPs (AOL, Tiscali and BT) being placed at the crosshair of publisher’s liability for defamatory posts shared through the Usenet newsgroups, due to the fact
Jameel v Dow Jones & Co Inc [2005] EWCA Civ 75
In this case, a defamatory article was posted on the website of the Wall Street Journal Online. The claim against Dow Jones (the publisher of the WSJ) failed due to
Godfrey v Demon Internet Ltd [1999] EWHC QB 244
In the case of Godfrey v Demon Internet , a forged posting was shared through the soc.culture.thai Usenet newsgroup by someone pretending to be the claimant. The latter decided to
Argentine Civil Code
Articles 1109 and 1113 as modified by Law 17.711 of July 1, 1968
Although Argentina does not have any specific legislation regarding Internet Service Providers’ (ISP) liability, Articles 1.109 and 1.113 of the Argentine Civil Code are used as references for court cases
Intellectual Property Law N. 11.723
A number of the judicial decisions regarding intermediary responsibility are based on Intellectual Property Law 11.723. The following articles have been repetedly applied in decisions dealing with intermediary liability: (
Legislative Proposal, 8070-D-2012
Intermediary Services on the Internet. Providers’ Responsibility Guidelines
Proposing that ISPs should not be liable for the transmitted information, unless they originally transmitted it or modified it. Defines caching, hosting and discusses the dissemination of preventive policies to
Legislative Proposal, 2668-D-2012
ISPs Responsibility Guideline
Article 1.1 defines Internet Service Providers (ISP) as the technological intermediaries who allow access, connection and interconnection to networks and data on the Internet. This also includes those spaces that
Rodriguez M. Belen c/Google y Otro s/ daños y perjuicios,
Corte Suprema [Supreme Court], Civil, R.522.XLIX.
The case discussed the question whether search engines are liable for linking in search results to third-party content that violates fundamental rights or infringes copyright. The decision was largely favorable
Sujarchuk Ariel Bernardo c/Warley Jorge Alberto
Corte Suprema [Supreme Court], Civil, S.755, L.XLVI
The civil court charged a journalist for describing Ariel Bernardo Sujarchuk, sub secretary at the University of Buenos Aires, as sinister in a published blog. The Supreme Court applied a
S. M., M. S. c/ Yahoo de Argentina SRL y Otro s/ daños y perjuicios
Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Civil de la Capital Federal [National Civil Court of Appeals, Buenos Aires capital District], Civil. Expte. Nº 89.007/2006; Cita Online: AR/JUR/XXXXX/2013.
This case is one among numerous civil lawsuits brought against the search engines Google and Yahoo! by different ‘celebrities’ and well‐known public figures for violation of their honor and privacy
“P., L. y otros"
Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Criminal y Correccional de la Capital Federal [National Court of Criminal Appeals, Buenos Aires capital District], Criminal
Confirmed the previous decision regarding a criminal lawsuit against 10 YouTube users accused of publishing a movie on the platform and infringing copyright law, in particular Article 71 of Law
María Belén c/ Google Inc. y Otro s/ Daños y Perjuicios, Expte. Nº 99.613/06
Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Civil de la Capital Federal [National Civil Court of Appeals, Buenos Aires capital District], Civil, Cita Online: AR/JUR/21886/2013
This case is one among other civil lawsuits brought against the search engines Google and Yahoo! by different ‘celebrities’ and well‐known public figures for violation of their honor and privacy
“Incidente de medida cautelar en autos Escobar, Tomas s/ infracción Ley 11723”
Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Criminal y Correccional de la Capital Federal [National Court of Criminal Appeals, Buenos Aires capital District], Criminal, Expte. 1681/2012/2.
The website Cuevana, active since 2009, provides streaming links to several movies and TV series. HBO Ole Partners requested to completely block the website for a copyright law violation in
C. E. M. Y OTRO v. Mercado Libre S. A. S
Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Civil de la Capital Federal [National Civil Court of Appeals, Buenos Aires capital District], Civil /DAÑOS Y PERJUICIOS, Expte. Nº 36440/2010 Cita Online: AA83B9
Individuals sued Mercado Libre after having bought counterfeit tickets on their website. Mercado Libre functions as an online platform which provides a space for sellers to advertise and sell their
Virginia Da Cunha v. Yahoo de Argentina S.R.L. and Google.
Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Civil de la Capital Federal [National Civil Court of Appeals, Buenos Aires capital District], Civil, Da Cunha, Expte. Nº 99.620/2006; Cita Online: AR/JUR/40066/2010, August 10, 2010
In Argentina, controversies against the search engines Google and Yahoo! arose in civil lawsuits brought by different ‘celebrities’ and well‐known public figures for violation of their honor and privacy, or
Bluvol, Esteban Carlos c / Google Inc. y otros s/ daños y perjuicios
Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Civil de la Capital Federal [National Civil Court of Appeals, Buenos Aires capital District], Civil. Exp. N° 59.532/2009, Cita Online: AR/JUR/55851/2009
In the Bluvol case, the plaintiff came to know of a blog on Blogspot, which he had not created, but was posted under his name. This blog was easily accessible
CAPIF Camara Argentina de Productores de Fonograms y Otros c/ The Pirate Bay s/Medidas Precautorias
Juzgado Nacional de Primera Instancia en lo Civil [National First Instance Civil Court] No. 64, Civil. Expte. Nº 67921/2013
The District Court No. 64 in Buenos Aires issued an injunction to block access to the Pirate Bay website in a case initiated by the Argentine Chamber of Phonographic Producers.
Imagen Satelital S.A. c/Quien Resulta Titular del Sitio Web CUEVANA s/Medidas Precautorias,
Juzgado Nacional de Primera Instancia en lo Civil [National First Instance Civil Court], Civil. Expte. Nº 72.792/2011.
On November 2011, following a claim from Imagen Satelital S.A., a judge ordered ISPs to block access, for all Internet users, to specific content on the website “Cuevana," including the
Delegación de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas v. Google Inc
Juzgado Nacional de Primera Instancia en lo Civil [National First Instance Civil Court], Civil, Expte. n° 34023/11 Cita Online La Ley AR/JUR/16489/2011
The Argentine Delegation of Israeli Associations (DAIA) requested that Google removed the links to many websites presenting ostensibly anti-Semitic and discriminatory content. DAIA filed a class action and the judge
Marco Civil da Internet - “Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet"
Federal Law no. 12.965
The law introduces a liability exemption for Internet connection providers and the application of the safe harbor doctrine for other Internet application providers. Article 18 addresses the liability of Internet
Google Brazil, Special Appeal No. 1323754/RJ
Superior Court of Justice, Third Panel,
Decision held that the ISP must act expeditiously upon user notification in order to avoid being held jointly liable for offensive/illegal content. The decision suggests that, once communicated by a
Google Brasil Internet LTDA. vs. Maria da Graça Xuxa Meneghel
Superior Court of Brazil. Special Appeal No. 1.316.921 - RJ (2011⁄0307909-6)
Civil and Consumer law. Internet. Consumer relations. Applicability of the Consumer Protection and Defense Code. Irrelevance of gratuity of service. Internet search engine. Lack of necessity to prior filtering of
Charles Berbare v. Google Brasil Internet Ltda.
São Paulo State Court
The Plaintiff requested the deletion of Google search results indexing old publications about his involvement in a flagrante arrest for alleged unauthorized practice of medicine. As the falsehood of the
Aliandra v. Orkut, ARE 660861
At the Supremo Tribunal Federal and Minas Gerais State Court of Appeals], Civil.
( 1 ) The Plaintiff, a teacher called Aliandra, was informed by students that Orkut hosted an allegedly defamatory "community" (a discussion forum created by users) called “I hate Aliandra".
Law No. 20.435,
Amending the Intellectual Property Law
Together with new copyright exceptions and limitations and the new rules for collecting societies’ tariff procedures, this amendement establishes a regime of limitations on liability for information service providers, as
Suazo vs Reclamos.cl
Supreme Court
The plaintiff sought relief from the administrator of a website ( www.reclamos.cl ) where people can leave anonymous public messages with complaints against companies and services. The plaintiff, the representative
Court of Appeals of Valparaíso, Abbott vs Google
The plaintiff sought an injunction and relief against a series of Chilean websites as well as Google, claiming that the websites, along with blogs hosted by Google, were making slanderous
Fuentes vs Entel II
Court of Appeals of Concepción
Plaintiff sought monetary relief from both the internet service provider (Entel) as well as the parent of the person that posted a defamatory content (see below Entel I). The Court
Fuentes vs Entel I
Court of Appeals of Concepción
Stating that liability for defamatory content - a false offering of sexual services by the minor daughter of plaintiff - may be exclusively casted upon the provider of the content,
Law No. 23 of 1982, Copyright Act
There are no provisions in the Copyright Act that expressly establish rules regarding intermediary liability on the internet.
Constitutional Court, Gloria v. Casa Editorial El Tiempo, T-277/15
Stating that when there is a favorable outcome for an individual in a proceeding—in this case Gloria was acquitted from charges of human trafficking—there is an obligation to update the
Electronic Transactions Act
§34 of the Electronic Transactions Act deals with the ‘Liability of Intermediaries’. The statutory provisions generally employ a ‘mere conduit’ approach, and do not require intermediaries to actively monitor information
The Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Providing to the citizens freedom of expression (art 47), freedom of information (art 50) and right for confidentiality (art 32)
Amendments to the Criminal Code (criminalizing “defamatory and offensive views” posted on the Internet)
Prior to this amendment, only defamation on mass media produced liability. Internet was not mentioned. According to the amendments: ( 1 ) Spreading libel on the Internet is subject to
Law No. 1024 IIQ, The Law of The Republic of Azerbaijan to obtain information
Article 29 of this Law provides a list of information to be disclosed by information owners. In addition to the available tools, the government agencies must disclose the information specified
Law No. 927 IIG, Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Telecommunications
This law covers the main principles applying to telecommunication activities and provides for the protection of operators, providers and users (art 3). Among those principles, the law mentions that (
Law N. 404-IIKG, The Constitutional Law on Regulation of the Implementation of Human Rights and Freedoms
Stating that freedom of expression and information can be restricted only subject to Article 3.1 of the Constitutional Law which says: Provided by the Constitution of the Azerbaijani Republic and
Law No. 598, Rules for Using Internet Communication
Article 4 governs the “Rights and responsibilities of Internet service providers” and regulates the relations between ISPs and Internet users. ( 1 ) Internet Providers shall provide the following: (
Law No. 769-IQ, The Law on Mass Media
Providing that: ( 1 ) Internet contents is regulated by the general rules regulating the content of all mass media (art 3); there are no special laws (neither legislation, nor
Regional Court of Astara , Mikayil Talobov prosecution
After the amendment to the Criminal Code on Internet defamation on June 30, 2013, the the first person tried under the defamation act was Mikayil Talibov. On August 14, 2013
District Court of Nizami , F. Novruzoglu Prosecution
Mr. Novruzoglu was accused of posting calls for riots on Facebook ahead of the 11 March 11, 2011 Great People’s Day protest. He was sentenced, and served 4 years and
Executive Order of the Supreme Leader Establishing the Supreme Council of Cyberspace
The Supreme Council of Cyberspace (SCC) serves as the centralized authority regarding policymaking, decision-making, and coordination in the realm of cyberspace. All state agencies - not excluding the Iranian Parliament
Committee for Determining Instances of Criminal Web Content, Administrative Procedures
Since 2009, the CDICWC has issued decisions regarding in the intermittent blocking of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and WeChat. In Febraury 2014, the CDICWC also stated it is considering
The Copyright Act of 2007 (Unofficial English Version)
Section 18 establishes the permitted uses within the framework of the Copyright Act, these permitted uses are set out in Sections 19-30 . Section 26 deals with “temporary copies” created
Supreme Court, Civil Appeal 9183/09, The Football Association Premier League Ltd v John Doe (2012)
This case involves unauthorized streaming of live soccer games of the English Premier League. The Supreme Court suggests in dicta several possibilities to further establish Contributory Liability with regard to
District Court of Tel-Aviv, 49918-05-12, Amir Savir v. Google
( 1 ) The case was brought by Ami Savir against the owner of the website court.org.il and Google. Mr. Savir, an Israeli attorney was mischaracterized as having committed five
District Court of Tel Aviv , Civil Action 37039-05-15, ZIR”A et al. vs. Anonymous, Bezeq Ben Leumi et al.
( 1 ) Several content providers sued ISPs to block access to the websites allowing users to download a streaming software called “Popcorn” which allows users to stream video content
District Court of Tel-Aviv, Civil Ruling 33227-11-13, NMC United Entertainment LTD et al. vs. Bloomberg et al.
( 1 ) This case involves unauthorized streaming and download of music recordings through the website Unidown. Five Israeli music record companies sued the owners of the website Unidown and
Law No. 22 of 1992 on the Protection of Copyright, as amended on March 31, 2005
The Copyright Law in Jordan has no specific provisions dealing with the liability of Online Service Providers (OSPs). It contains no provisions that expressly deal with secondary liability.
Civil Code, Law No. 43 of 1976
( 1 ) In the absence of a provision in the Copyright Law, secondary liability is dealt with general tort law principles of joint liability under the Jordanian civil legal
Omnibus Bill, No. 524 (first introduced on June 26, 2013), Amending Provisions in Various Laws and Decrees including Law No. 5651 “Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Suppression of Crimes Committed by means of Such Publications”, Law No. 5809 “Electronic Communications Law” and others.
( 1 ) 19 articles of the Omnibus Bill amend Law No. 5651. These amendments place the Internet service and access providers under the obligation of ( i ) establishing,
Law No. 5809, November 5, 2008, Electronic Communications Law (English Version)
( 1 ) An amendment to article 8 of Law No. 5651 (see below) was made through the Electronic Communication Law as follows: “ADDITIONAL ARTICLE 1- (7) The following paragraph
By-Law No. RG-26942, July 20, 2008, By-Law On Security of Electronic Communications (English Version)
Note: This regulation was somehow published before the enactment of the Electronic Communications Law
By-Law No. RG-27655, July 28, 2010, By-Law on Consumer Rights in the Electronic Communications Sector (English Version)
By-Law No. RG-27697, September 12, 2010, By-Law on Quality of Service in the Electronic Communications Sector (English Version)
Communique No. RG-28236, March 17, 2012, Communique on the Implementation of Annex-4 of the By-Law on Quality of Service in the Electronic Communication Sector
Communique on the Implementation of Annex-4 of the By-Law on Quality of Service in the Electronic Communication Sector
By-Law, No. RG-27752, November 11, 2010, By-Law on Internet Domain Names
By-law that was prepared on the basis of the Article 5, 34 and 35 of the Electronic Communications Law No. 5809. Articles 16 to 20 regulates the responsibilities of the
Communique No. RG-28267
Communique on Acquiring Quality of Service Criteria of GSM Mobile Telephony Services.
Regulation No. RG-28363, July 24, 2012, Regulation Concerning the Processing of Personal Data and the Protection of Privacy in the Electronic Communications Sector
The purpose of this Regulation, which was issued on the basis of Articles 4, 6, 12 and 51 of Electronic Communications Law Nr. 5809, is to set out the procedures
Law No. 5651, May 23, 2007, Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Suppression of Crimes Committed by means of Such Publications
( 1 ) The Law No. 5651 aims to combat certain online crimes and regulates procedures regarding such crimes committed on the Internet through content, hosting, and access providers. It
Regulation No. RG-26680
Regulation No. RG-26680, October 24, 2007, Regulation on the Procedures and Principles for Granting Operating Certificate to Access Providers and Hosting Providers by the Telecommunication Authority (English Version)
Regulation No. RG-26687
Regulation on Internet Public Use Providers
Regulation No. RG-26716
Regulation on the Principles and Procedures of Regulating the Publications on the Internet
Law No. 5237, October 12, 2004, Turkish Criminal Code (English Version)
Chapter 10 regulates the crimes in the field of Informatics. The crimes in Articles 84 (guidance to suicide), 103/1 (child abuse), 190 (facilitation of drug or cordial use), 194 (providing
Law No. 5846, December 5, 1951, Turkish Code of Intellectual and Artistic Works, as Amended by Law No. 5101/25 of March 3, 2004 (English Version)
Access blocking is a legal remedy for intellectual property infringements provided under supplemental Article 4 (see Annex 4, Amendment: 3.3.2004-5101/25 within the English text linked above) of the Law No.
Law No. 5070, January 15, 2004, Electronic Signature Law (English Version)
Chapter 2 provides the responsibilities, Chapter 3 sets the penalties and inspection provisions of the Electronic Certificate Service Providers.
By-Law No. RG- 25692
By-law on the Procedures and Principles Pertaining to the Implementation of Electronic Signature Law (English Version)
Law No. 4721, December 7, 2002, Turkish Civil Code (English Version)
Internet intermediaries could be faced with blocking orders as precautionary injunctions, which are issued by civil courts with regard to the violation of personal rights and defamation claims (Article 24,
Constitutional Court, Akdeniz, Altiparmak + YouTube LLC, Tanrikulu, Feyzioglu, Tanal, Bedirhanoglu v Presidency of Telecommunications and Communication (TIB), No. 2014/4705
The Turkish Constitutional Court decided that TIB's blocking of the video sharing platform YouTube was unlawful and should have been be lifted as it violated Article 26 of the Turkish
Constitutional Court, Akdeniz, Altiparmak, Tanrikulu v Presidency of Telecommunications and Communication (TIB), No. 2014/3986
The Turkish Constitutional Court decided that TIB's blocking of the video sharing platform YouTube was unlawful and should have been be lifted as it violated Article 26 of the Turkish
Supreme Court, 9th Criminal Chamber, Coskun Ak case, E.2001/1854, K.2001/2649
Coskun Ak was a forum moderator operated by Superonline, a well known ISP in Turkey. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison due to a particular message about human
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Final Judgement, Yildirim v Turkey, 3111/10
Violation of Article 10, European Convention on Human Rights - Freedom of expression -{General} Related domestic law: Law No. 5651, Article 8. ECHR Article 10-1 - Freedom of expression, Freedom
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Final Judgement, Akdeniz v. Turkey, 20877/10
( 1 ) Last.fm was blocked by Turkish courts at the request of a local group representing rights holders. It was challenged by the applicant simply as a user of
1st Criminal Court of Peace of Istanbul, Mehmet Selim Kiraz Case, No. 2015/1644
( 1 ) The 1st Criminal Court of Peace in Istanbul issued a content removal and blocking order against Twitter, Facebook and YouTube according to a request of the Chief
4th Administrative Court of Ankara, Google Inc. - YouTube v Presidency of Telecommunications and Communication (TIB), No. 2014/xxx
The Court in Ankara ordered TIB to stay the execution of a blocking order banning access to YouTube in Turkey. Later, upon claim of the Prosecution Office of the same
Criminal Court of First Instance of Ankara, Gölbaşı, Google Inc, YouTube, No. 2014/91 D
The Court finally ruled to unblock access to the popular video-sharing website YouTube, after initially ordering a temporary measure to reinstate the ban as per the prosecution’s request. ( 1
18th Criminal Court of Peace of Instanbul Anadolu, Objecting Party: Twitter Inc., No. 2014/98 [English Version]
Following a decision of the 5th Criminal Court of Peace of Istanbul Anadolu, TIB banned two Twitter accounts, discussing the government related corruption news that appeared in the mainstream and
15th Administrative Court of Ankara, The Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) v Presidency of Telecommunications and Communication (TIB), Information and Telecommunication Authority (BTK), No. 2014/511
The Court in Ankara ordered TIB to stay the execution of a blocking order banning access to Twitter in Turkey after receiving an appeal filled by the Turkish Bar Association,
Criminal Court of Peace, Recep Konuk Corruption Case, 2010
A 2010 decision of the Turkish criminal court of peace provides an important precedent in regards to how Turkish courts should interpret and apply the provisions of Law No. 5651
First Criminal Court of Peace of Diyarbakır, Digiturk
The Court lifted its blocking order (ban to the two domains and their IP addresses) with regards to Blogger.com and Blogspot. Digiturk, a subscription based digital TV platform in Turkey
2nd Criminal Court of Peace of Sivas, Ataturk, No. 2008/11
Ordering an IP address based access ban to YouTube.com as the website contained two further videos containing defamatory statements about Ataturk contrary to article 8(1)(b) of the Law No. 5651
2nd Civil Court of First Instance of Kadıköy, Dean of University of Marmara, No. 2008/1
Issuing an URL access ban with regards to a single video containing defamatory statements about the dean of University of Marmara in Istanbul in breach of articles 24 and 25
11th Criminal Court of Peace of Ankara, Ataturk, No. 2007/1431
This is the first decision issuing an order to block access to certain YouTube pages (URL access ban). The blocking order was issued because YouTube contained 8 videos involving defamatory
5th Criminal Court of Peace of Ankara, Ataturk prosecution
Issuing a blocking order that banned access to www.youtube.com with regards to 66 video clips involving defamatory statements about Ataturk, the Turkish Army, the Prime Minister and the President of
2nd Civil Court of First Instance of Istanbul, Adnan Oktar vs. Wordpress.com and Google groups
Defamation claims from Adnan Oktar resulted in the blocking of the websites Wordpress.com and Google groups in Turkey (article 9 of Law No. 5651).
11th Assize Court of Ankara, No. 2007/2882
Issuing blocking order in connection with two YouTube video clips involving a suspect who was under custody for interrogation. It was alleged that the clips had been broadcasted by other
11th Assize Court of Istanbul, PKK, No. 2007/842
Issuing a blocking order releted to the display of acts of violence and terrorism. The blocking order involved 67 videos depicting terrorist propaganda and attacks by PKK, and the order
1st Criminal Court of Peace of Istanbul, Ataturk Prosecution
Ordering the blocking of access to the whole of www.youtube.com because of a single video involving defamatory statements about Ataturk and scenes disparaging the Turkish Flag. Those conducts are considered
District Court of Afyonkarahisar, Civil, Governor Muammer Dilek v Muhammet Tascilar (ISP) Urfa, 20003/119
Muammer Dilek, the ex governor of Sanliurfa, claimed that there were defamatory comments about him on the Sanliurfa.Com website. The Court ordered Muhammet Tascilar, the owner of the company hosting
Istanbul Assize Court, Coskun Ak Prosecution
Coskun Ak, a former moderator of various forums operated by Superonline, one of the largest ISPs in Turkey was sentenced to 40 months in prison due to a particular message
Ley de Telecomunicaciones y Radiodifusión [Broadcasting and Telecommunications Act]
( 1 ) The Telecommunications Act recently passed in Mexico (on July 17, 2014). Under Article 15, Section LXI , the Telecommunications Federal Institute of Telecommunications (FIT) has the power
Federal Law on Copyright, December 5, 1996, as amended on June 10, 2013
( 1 ) In Mexico there is no ad hoc legislation, such as the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The Copyright Law contemplates provisions which accommodate concepts such as
Civil Code, August 31, 1928, as amended on December 24, 2013
The concept of 'strict liability' is defined in Article 1913 of the Civil Code in the following manner: "When a person operates machines, any instrument or substance that is inherently
Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares [Federal Law on Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties]
The Law provides a set of rights called “ARCO rights”, that refer to the rights of Access, Rectification, Cancellation and Objection, that data owners can exercise against the processing of
Regulations to the Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data, December 19, 2011
The Regulations define the " Right of Cancellation " ("cancellation means stopping the processing of personal data by the data controller, starting from their blockage and subsequent supression") and the
Trans Pacific Partnership Intellectual Property Rights Chapter [confidential text leaked on August 30, 2013]
Mexico is partecipating in the negotiation of this international agreement including a section on Internet service provider liability, with countries lining up either in favour of a general notification obligation
Copyright Amendment Bill, implementing a Three Strike System, introduced on April 27, 2010
( 1 ) On April 27, 2010, the Mexican Congress filed and published a bill to amend the Copyright Law based on the HADOPI model. The bill aimed to protect
Séptimo Tribunal Colegiado de Circuito del Centro Auxiliar de la Primera Región, Amparo en Revisión 72/2012, August, 2016.
Séptimo Tribunal Colegiado de Circuito del Centro Auxiliar de la Primera Región, Amparo en Revisión 72/2012 , August, 2016. After the Mexican National Institute for the Access to Information (INAI)
National Institute for the Access to Information (INAI), Carlos Sánchez de la Peña v. Google México, S. de R.L., PPD.0094/14
( 1 ) The Mexican National Institute for the Access to Information (INAI) ruled in favor of a transportation magnate, Carlos Sánchez de la Peña, who wanted three links removed
Copyright Modernization Act, SC 2012, c 20.
Copyright Modernization Act , SC 2012, c 20. ( 1 ) This is an amending Act to the Copyright Act (see below). Section 31.1 expands the exemption granted by section
Copyright Act, RSC 1985, c C-42
( 1 ) The most pertinent parts of this Act for intermediaries are sections 2.4(1)(b), 27 and 29. Section 2.4(1)(b), known as the “ Common Carrier Exemption ”, states that
Trans Pacific Partnership Intellectual Property Rights Chapter [confidential text leaked on August 30, 2013]
The dispute involved links to the website of a company that had been found to have stolen trade secrets from a competitor and used unfair competition tactics to lure customers
Supreme Court of Canada, Google Inc. v. Equuestek Solutions Inc., 2017 SCC 34
The dispute involved links to the website of a company that had been found to have stolen trade secrets from a competitor and used unfair competition tactics to lure customers
Supreme Court of Canada, Douez v. Facebook Inc., 2017 SCC 33
Recognizing the unequal bargaining power between companies and consumers, the Supreme Court rejected a forum selection clause requiring that legal actions taken against Facebook should be taken in California. The
Supreme Court of Canada, Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) v Bell Canada, 2012 SCC 36
Companies who allowed their subscribers to preview musical works via online streaming before making a purchase were found to not have infringed the copyright in those works. The Court held
Supreme Court of Canada, Crookes v. Newton, 2011 SCC 47
This case involved hyperlinks in an online article that directed its readers to defamatory materials. The issue is whether this constituted a publication for the purposes of defamation law. For
Supreme Court of Canada, Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) v Canadian Assn. of Internet Providers (CAIP), 2004 SCC 45
( 1 ) Also known as the Tariff 22 case, this is the leading decision on ISP liability and copyright infringement. The Court denied the claimants royalties for copyrighted materials
Supreme Court of Canada, CCH Canadian Ltd v Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC), 2004 SCC 13
( 1 ) The LSUC operated a library, and was accused of copyright infringement by providing photocopying services to its patrons. The Supreme Court ruled that the LSUC did not
Supreme Court of British Columbia, Equustek Solutions Inc. v. Jack, 2014 BCSC 1063
The Supreme Court of British Columbia issued an order requiring Google to remove websites from its worldwide index. The dispute involved links to the website of a company that had
Federal Court of Canada, Voltage Pictures v Does, 2014 FC 161
( 1 ) This case is an application of the principles laid out in BMG Canada v John Doe (see below) with respect to disclosure orders. Here, the claimant sought
Ontario Superior Court, Morris v Johnson, 2011 ONSC 3996
This is another instance where the court applied the Warman factors (see above) to a case concerning online defamation. Here, the plaintiff brought an action against the host of a
Ontario Superior Court, Warman v Fournier et al, 2010 ONSC 2126 (Div Ct)
( 1 ) The plaintiff sued the operator of a message board and eight anonymous participants who allegedly posted defamatory statements. In accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure (76.03),
Ontario Superior Court, York University v Bell Canada Enterprises, 2009 99 OR (3d) 695 (ONSC)
This case involves a defamatory email and web posting written by a faculty group at York University. The plaintiff was granted a Norwich order compelling two ISPs, Bell Canada Enterprises
Court of Appeal for British Clolumbia, Carter v. B.C. Federation of Foster Parent Assn., 2005 BCCA 398
The court held an operator of a discussion forum liable for the defamatory remarks posted by its participants because he did not contact his ISP and remove them within a
Federal Court of Canada, BMG Canada Inc v John Doe, 2004 FC 488
Representatives from the recording industry sought an order to compel various ISPs to disclose the identity of those who used P2P file-sharing networks (KaZaA and iMesh) to share and download
Ontario Superior Court, Irwin Toy v Doe, 2000 OJ No 3318
This case demonstrates a successful application for a disclosure order under the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure (30.10 and 31.10). Defamatory emails were sent to 75 employees working at the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998, 17 U.S.C. § 512
Creating safe harbors for ISPs against monetary liability for copyright infringing material posted or sent through an intermediary’s system. Unlike §230, DMCA safe harbors don’t prevent suit for injunctive relief
Communications Decency Act 1996, 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)
Communications Decency Act Section 230 (CDA 230) provides broad immunity for intermediaries. It provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher
Trademark Act 1946, 15 U.S.C. § 1114(2), §32(2)
Providing a safe harbor from trademark infringement for publishers, which is also extended to online providers of content written by another.
Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) of 2011, H.R. 3261, introduced in the House on October 26, 2011 (postponed)
( 1 ) This Bill was introduced to provide new tools to enforce online copyright infringment. These measures applied to "foreign infinging sites". This definition includes ( i ) U.S.-directed
Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act or PIPA) of 2011, S. 968, introduced in the Senate on May 12, 2011 (postponed)
This Bill is the Senate version of SOPA and a rewrite of COICA (see below). The Bill would give the US government and copyright holders additional tools to enhance "enforcement
Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) of 2010, S. 3804, introduced in the Senate on November 18, 2010 (withdrawn)
authorizing the Attorney General to bring an in rem action against any domain name "dedicated to infringing activities." Upon obtaining an order for relief, the registrar of, or registry affiliated
American Broadcasting Cos., Inc. v. Aereo, Inc., 545 U.S. 913 (2014)
holding that “Aereo publicly performs copyrighted works, in violation of the Copyright Act’s Transmit Clause, when it sells its subscribers a technologically complex service that allows them to watch television
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 545 U.S. 913, 125 S. Ct. 2764, 162 L. Ed. 2d 781 (2005)
Songwriters, music publishers, and motion studios brought copyright infringement action against distributors of a P2P file sharing computer networking software. The Supreme Court held that one who distributes a device
Sony Corporation of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984)
Universal brought an action against Sony alleging that video tape recorder (VTRs) consumers had been recording some of Universal’s copyrighted works that had been exhibited on commercially sponsored television and
Capitol Records LLC et al v. Vimeo LLC et al, No. 14-1048 (2nd Cir. 2016)
Video-sharing website Vimeo LLC cannot be held liable for copyright infringement for unknowingly hosting older music (pre-1972) uploaded by its users. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New
Stephanie Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., 5:07-cv-03783-JF (9th Cir. 2015)
( 1 ) The Court gave some breathing space to creators of User-Generated Content (UGC) from bogus takedown notices in cases of blatant misrepresentation of fair use defences by copyright
Backpage.com, LLC v Thomas J. Dart, Sheriff of Cook County, No. 15-3047 (7th Cir. 2015)
( 1 ) The Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois in an attempt to shut down Backpage.com’s advertising of sexual services sent a letter to Visa and MasterCard, demanding the companies
Garcia v. Google, Inc., 743 F. 3d 1258 (9th Cir. 2014)
The footage of an actress' minor role in an unreleased adventure film titled “Desert Warrior”, was modified and incorporated into an anti-Islamic film titled the "Innocence of the Muslims", which
UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Shelter Capital Partners LLC, 718 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 2013)
Music publisher brought action against operator of publicly accessible website, Veoh, which enabled users to share videos with other users and website’s investors, alleging direct and secondary copyright infringement. District
Capitol Records, LLC v. ReDigi Inc., 934 F.Supp.2d 640 (S.D.N.Y. 2013)
Capitol Records (CR), a record company, sued ReDigi, which operated an online marketplace for buying and selling pre-owned legally downloaded music, for copyright infringement regarding reproduction and distribution rights in
Viacom Int'l, Inc. v. YouTube, Inc., 676 F.3d 19 (2d Cir. 2012)
Viacom, owners of copyrighted videos field infringement action against owner and operator of website that allowed users to upload video files free of charge. Second circuit held that actual knowledge
Capitol Records, Inc. v. MP3Tunes, LLC, 821 F.Supp.2d 627 (S.D.N.Y. 2011)
( 1 ) Capitol Records, which owns copyrights in sound recordings, musical compositions, and images of album cover art, sued MP3Tunes, an online music storage service provider whose website allows
Doe v. MySpace, Inc., 528 F.3d 413 (5th Cir. 2008)
Social networking site, Myspace faced a claim for liability arising from an assault on a minor by a nineteen-year-old man whom she met through MySpace. Family of the girl sued
Perfect 10 v. Amazon.com, 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2007)
Perfect 10, an adult entertainment magazine providing a subscription-only service online. Third party website publishers posted Perfect 10’s images on their own sites and were searchable on Google, violating Perfect
RIAA v. Verizon Internet Services, 351 F.3d 1229 (D.C. Cir. 2003)
Record Industry Association of America (“RIAA”) served, Verizon, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) with subpoena under DMCA 512(h), seeking to identify subscribers whom it believed had infringed their members’ copyrights
A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 239 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2001)
Record companies and music publishers brought copyright infringement action against Napster, an Internet service that facilitated the transmission and retention of digital audio files by its users. Circuit judge held
Internet intermediary liability: Identifying best practices for Africa
Nicolo Zingales (Association for Progressive Communications)
The role of intermediaries in global networked communication is ubiquitous. All producers of content on the internet have to rely on the action of some third party–the so called intermediary–in
Role and Responsibility of Internet Intermediaries in the Field of Copyright in Kenya
Paper presented by Marisella Ouma at WIPO-ISOC (2011)
Paper presented at WIPO-ISOC June 22, 2011
General Resources - Argentina
Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC), ‘Challenges Facing Freedom of Expression: Intermediary Liability in Argentine Case Law’ Freedom House, ‘Freedom on the net 2011 A global assessment of Internet and
Eduardo Bertoni. Elizabeth Compa. Derecho Comparado de la Información (UNAM), Emerging Patterns in Internet Freedom of Expression: Comparative Research Findings in Argentina and Abroad, No.16, 2010
Paper presents an analysis of two cases against search engines in Argentina
General Resources - Bolivia
http://www.senapi.gob.bo/ http://www.gacetaoficialdebolivia.gob.bo/ http://www.cepal.org/publicaciones/xml/4/49394/EntreMitosyrealidades.pdf
General Resources - Chile
Claudio Ruiz Gallardo and Juan Carlos Lara Gálvez, Liability of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and the exercise of freedom of expression in Latin America (2011) Matías Hercovich Montalba, Responsabilidad de
General Resources - Colombia
Redpatodos (civil society joint), Legal Comments on “Ley Lleras” Bill Redpatodos, Legal Comments for the First Debate of “Ley Lleras” Bill
Andrés Izquierdo, Fundación Karisma, “Intellectual Property Reform in Colombia: Future Colombian Copyright Legislation Must Not Place Overly Restrictive Burdens on Internet Service Providers that Unnecessarily Restrict Access to Information and Freedom of Expression of the People of Colombia (Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Clinic, PIJIP Research Paper No. 2013-03, 2013)
Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Clinic, in collaboration with Andrés Izquierdo and Fundación Karisma. 2013.Intellectual Property Reform in Colombia: Future Colombian Copyright Legislation Must Not Place Overly Restrictive Burdens on Internet Service
Carlos Cortés (Karisma Foundation consultant), The Unresolved Debate in Colombia about Copyright Protection on the Internet. The case of ‘Lleras Law’ [Full text in Spanish] [Summary in English]
This article anlalyses the rejection of the Ley Lleras proposal in 2011. That proposal would implement domestically the terms of the FTA between Colombia and USA.
General Resources - Peru
Comisión de Derechos de Autor del Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y la Propiedad Intelectual Peruvian Copyright Administrative Authority at the National Institute for the Defense of Competition
General Resources - Venezuela
Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones de Venezuela (Conatel) Venezuelan National Commission of Telecommunications, http://www.conatel.gob.ve Freedom House, Freedom on the Net, Venezuela, http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2013/venezuela#.U9BdWkCTErM
Procedimiento Sancionador PS/00149/2016. Resolución R/02232/2016
In this administrative proceeding within the Spanish DPA (AEPD - Agencia Española de Protección de Datos), Google was fined in 150,000 Euros for communicating webmasters about the delisting of content
Law No. 2/2011, on a Sustainable Economy
Law instituting an administrative body - the Second Section of the Copyright Commission - in charge of issuing orders against information society services hosting copyright infringing materials (Article 43, introducing
Supreme Court, Criminal Chamber, Youkioske.com, 920/2016
Holding two webmasters of a website liable for criminal copyright infringement; the website would offer links to access, via streaming, scanned full versions of newspapers, magazines and books; the files
Supreme Court, Civil Chamber, Meristation, 805/2013
Holding the owner of a website liable for third party defamatory comments posted to website’s fora; the defendant had some control mechanisms in place what failed to prevent the postings;
Supreme Court, Civil Chamber, An individual v Google Spain, 210/2016
Holding Google Spain SL liable for damages for failing to remove links to personal information after a “right to be forgotten” request by the claimant; damages were awarded following art.
Supreme Court, Civil Chamber, IU Colmenar Viejo, 297/2016
Holding the owner of a website – a political party’s local association – liable for third party defamatory comments posted to a website’s forum; the defendant carried out a moderation
Google Inc v Trkulja [2016] VSCA 333
In similar facts to the earlier 2012 decision, Mr Trkulja again brought a claim in defamation against Google for defamatory search results. Google Inc. sought to set aside service outside
Legislative Proposal, 5771-D-2016
Intermediary Services on the Internet. Providers’ Responsibility Guidelines
Defines “intermediaries” as the ones that carry out or facilitate transactions between third parties on the Internet, whether they offer access to, hosting, transmission, or index content, products or services
Legislative Proposal, 942-S-2016
Intermediary Services on the Internet. Providers’ Responsibility Guidelines
This legislation would codify responsibility of intermediaries for content posted by users. It defines ISPs; access, interconnection, transmission and data addressing providers; automatic storage or cache services providers; hosting providers;
Argentine Civil and Commercial Code,
Into force on August 1, 2015 - articles 53, 1721 and 1724
The new Argentine Civil and Commercial Code does not have any specific legislation regarding Internet Service Providers ’ (ISP) liability. Article 1.109 of the revoked Argentine Civil Code is still
Sagües Guillermo Ernesto y otro c/ Google Inc. y otro s/ daños y perjuicios
Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Civil y Comercial Federal, Sala III [National Civil and Commercial Court of Appeals, Federal District], Cita Online: MJ-JU-M-95026-AR
Dr. Sagües, President of the San Isidro Bar Association, sued Google for damages and sought a preliminary injunction for the removal of two allegedly defamatory blogs. A preliminary injunction was
Commission Recommendation on measures to effectively tackle illegal content online
The European Commission issued guidelines encouraging Member States and hosting service providers "to take effective, appropriate and proportionate measures to tackle illegal content online". Chapter I of the document provides
Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)2 - Council of Europe
Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the roles and responsibilities of internet intermediaries
The recommendation is divided in two items aimed at the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the digital environment. While the first item deals with the
European Commission report on Fake News and Online Disinformation
Final report of the High Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Fake News and Online Disinformation
In January 2018, the European Commission created High Level Group (HLEG) of experts "to advise on policy initiatives to counter fake news and disinformation spread online". The multidisciplinary group consisted
Kamlesh Vaswani vs. Union of India
Case pending decision
In 2013, lawyer Kamlesh Vaswani filed a petition before the Supreme Court of India challenging Sections 66, 67, 69, 71, 72, 75, 79, 80 and 85 of the Information Technology
Sabu Mathew George vs. Union of India
This is a 2008 case where a writ petition was filed to ban ‘advertisements’ relating to pre-natal sex determination from search engines in India. Section 22 of the Preconception and
In Re: Prajwala
Case pending decision
In 2015, an NGO named Prajwala wrote a letter to the Supreme Court raising concerns about videos depicting sexual violence being distributed on the internet. The letter sought to bring
Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Bill 2018
On 13th, March, 2018, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Ms. Heather Humphreys T.D., and the Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, Mr. John Halligan
Zakharov v. Russia (European Court of Human Rights)
The ECHR reviewed the Russian regulatory framework for mass surveillance on telecom networks (aka "SORM") and ruled that it is incompatible with Article 8 ("Right to respect for private life and correspondence") of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Lourdes Pavioto Correa v. Facebook do Brasil LTDA.
Case n. 1037396
The plaintiff, who never used the services of the defendant, through family members became aware of the existence of a profile under her name which contained personal information about her.
Federal law No. 102-FZ of 23.04.2018 "On amendments to the Federal law 'On enforcement proceedings' and article 15-1 of the Federal law 'On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection'"
The amendments authorize bailiffs to block "untrue information"
Under the amendments, bailiffs have the right to block access to sites that refuse to delete information that was recognized by a court as "discrediting the honor and dignity of
Federal Law #374-FZ On Amending Federal Law “On Combating Terrorism” And Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Regarding The Establishment Of Additional Counter-Terrorism Measures And Public Security
(aka “Yarovaya Law”)
The amendments impose a number of obligations on telecom operators and other ISPs (the law calls them “ organizers of information distribution on the Internet ") that are focused on
Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA)
New exception to intermediaries' immunities under CDA 230
The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act is the first amendment since 1996 to one of the US’s core Internet laws, Communications Decency Act Section 230
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The GDPR is a comprehensive overhaul of EU Data Protection law, and replaces the 1995 Data Protection Directive. Because it is a Regulation rather than a Directive, it generally does
Andorra Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . [The report
Armenia Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Austria Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
Azerbaijan Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Belgium Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . [The report
Bosnia and Herzegovina Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Bulgaria Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Croatia Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Cyprus Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Czech Republic Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Denmark Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Estonia Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Finland Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
France Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . [The report
Georgia Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Germany Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Greece Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Hungary Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Iceland Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Ireland Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Italy Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Latvia Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Liechtenstein Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Lithuania Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Luxembourg Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . [The report
Malta Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Monaco Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . [The report
Montenegro Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Netherlands Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Norway Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Poland Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Portugal Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Republic of Moldova Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Romania Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Russian Federation Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
San Marino Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Serbia Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Slovak Republic Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Slovenia Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Spain Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Sweden Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Switzerland Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . [The report
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Turkey Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Ukraine Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
United Kingdom Study on blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal Internet content
(prepared by Swiss Institute of Comparative Law for Council of Europe)
This is one of series of country reports prepared for the Council of Europe in 2015. Other countries' reports, and responses from national governments, are available here . The studies
Provisions for the Administration of Internet News Information Service 2017
Revision of the Provisions for the Administration of Internet News Information Services 2005
Chapter I: General Provisions Article 1: In order to strengthen Internet information content management and stimulate the healthy and orderly development of Internet news information services, on the basis of
Cybercrimes and cybersecurity bill
Bill introduced in Parliament, December 9, 2016
According to Article 16: Any person who unlawfully makes available, broadcasts or distributes, by means of a computer system, a data message to a specific person, group of persons or
NT1 & NT2 v Google LLC [2018] EWHC 799 (QB)
This is a key decision on the application of the CJEU judgement in Google Spain . The case combines two nominative deindexing claims against Google Search. The first one (NT1
Film and Publications Act
Film and Publications Act, Law n. 65/1996
According to Article 2: The object of this Act shall be to regulate the distribution of certain publications and the exhibition and distribution of certain films, in the main by
Online Regulation Policy
Policy designed to “bring about a comprehensive and fundamental transformation for online content regulation in the country”, “ensure that children are protected from exposure to disturbing and harmful content” and
FAPL v BT & others [2017] EWHC 480 (Ch)
This is a unique s.97A of the CDPA 1988 blocking injunction case, aimed at tackling copyright-infringing, live streaming of Premier League matches. The successfully obtained order (largely agreed between the
Constitutional Law Against Hatred, for Tolerance and Peaceful Coexistence
ANC, 2017. Ley constitucional contra el odio, por la convivencia pacífica y la tolerancia, Official Gazette No.41.271
On November 8, the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) promulgated the Constitutional Law Against Hatred, for Tolerance and Peaceful Coexistence which establishes prison sentences of between ten to twenty years for
Topics
Administrative Authorities and Content Removal
A central question shaping the debate on intermediary liability and freedom of expression online concerns which decision-makers are empowered to impose restrictions on the flow of information on the Internet.
Copyright
As the Internet facilitates nearly costless and limitless reproduction of copyrighted works, policy makers and courts have struggled to find the right balance between competing goals. These include: 1) mitigating
Right to Be Forgotten
The expression "right to be forgotten" has been used to label a broad range of very different legal issues, from privacy claims requesting broadcasters and newspapers to remove news from