Intermediaries’ Liability in Light of the Recent EU Copyright Reform

Abstract

The field of copyright law is dynamic and shaped by technological advances. The disruptive digitization of the last three decades has enabled on the one hand more creativity and on the other hand facilitated copyright infringement. Technology itself has become a tool of copyright management and legislators have increasingly entrusted platforms with a critical role in copyright enforcement. The article is set against this backdrop and seeks to explore in particular the recent reform of the European Union’s copyright law that only endorses the two highlighted trends. The article’s focus is on the much-contested Article 17 of the new Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market and provides a careful analysis of the legal provision, its standing against other legal acts and existing case-law. The article ultimately provides an appraisal of the likely effects of Article 17 underscoring some of the perils of algorithmic enforcement for creativity online.

Keywords: intermediaries' liability, upload filters, algorithmic enforcement, copyright law, EU copyright, Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, Article 17