On February 28 Europe adopted the Geoblocking Regulation. The European Parliament, European Commission and Member States have collectively reached a final agreement. Discrimination of customers in e-commerce on the basis of their nationality, place of residence or place of establishment shall be prohibited. Streaming of copyright protected music, e-books, online games or software do not (yet) fall under the scope of the Regulation. Other services such as financial, audio-visual, transport, healthcare and social services are also [Read more…] about Geoblocking Regulation is final!
Press Law
The right of journalistic newsgathering during demonstrations
*Guest post by prof. Dirk Voorhoof, Ghent University and Daniel Simons, Greenpeace International.
In a case about a Ukrainian journalist being arrested during an anti-globalisation protest in Russia, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Butkevich v. Russia (13 February 2018) has clarified that the gathering of information is an essential preparatory step in journalism and an inherent, protected part of press freedom. The ECtHR found that the arrest, prosecution and conviction of the journalist had violated his right to freedom [Read more…] about The right of journalistic newsgathering during demonstrations
No journalism exception for massive exposure of personal taxation data
Guest post by prof. Dirk Voorhoof, Ghent University.*
After long proceedings at national level, after a preliminary ruling by the EU Court of Justice on 16 December 2008 (Case C-73/07), and after the European Court of Human Rights Chamber judgment of 21 July 2015, the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR on 27 June 2017 finally found no violation of the right to freedom of expression and information in Satakunnan Markkinapörssi Oy and Satamedia Oy v. Finland. In essence the case concerns the mass collection, processing and publication of personal taxation data which were publicly accessible in Finland. The combination of a narrow interpretation of (public interest) journalism with a wide [Read more…] about No journalism exception for massive exposure of personal taxation data
ECHR in Pihl v. Sweden: blog operator not liable for promptly removed defamatory user comment
Guest post by prof. Dirk Voorhoof, Ghent University.*
In its decision of 9 March 2017 in Rolf Anders Daniel Pihl v. Sweden, the ECtHR has clarified the limited liability of operators of websites or online platforms containing defamatory user-generated content. The Court’s decision is also to be situated in the current discussion on how to prevent or react on “fake news”, and the policy to involve online platforms in terms of liability for posting such messages. Although the Court’s ruling expresses concerns about imposing liability on internet intermediaries that would amount to requiring excessive and impractical forethought capable of undermining the right to impart information via internet, the decision in Pihl v. Sweden itself guarantees only minimal protection for the rights of internet intermediaries and [Read more…] about ECHR in Pihl v. Sweden: blog operator not liable for promptly removed defamatory user comment
Hyperlinking at one’s own risk – CJEU in GS Media / Sanoma
By Joran Spauwen and Jens van den Brink[1]
The GS Media decision[2] of 8 September 2016 is the latest chapter in the case law from the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) on hyperlinking and copyright. Some consider it a questionable outcome with drastic restrictions on the freedom to link, and consequently of the freedom of information. Others feel the GS Media decision is merely a logical consequence of CJEU’s previous case law on the copyright holder’s exclusive right to ‘communicate his work to the public’. In any event, the decision has caused quite a stir, which may in part be due to the racy facts underlying this [Read more…] about Hyperlinking at one’s own risk – CJEU in GS Media / Sanoma
Top rankings for media team Kennedy Van der Laan
The two most authoritative legal rankings for lawyers have recently been published: Chambers and Legal 500. The Kennedy Van der Laan media team has again been awarded top rankings in both guides in the category media and entertainment (see Chambers and Legal 500).
Jens van den Brink is mentioned as ‘notable practitioner’ in the Chambers ranking: “Jens van den Brink has been especially active recently in handling defamation and copyright disputes for broadcasters and newspapers. Clients say he is “very good, he knows what he is talking about and he always reacts very promptly.” He advised UPC Nederland on a dispute in which a German rights holder organisation was seeking to disclose the identity of UPC subscribers who had exchanged pirated movies.” Legal500 [Read more…] about Top rankings for media team Kennedy Van der Laan
Grand Chamber Judgment Bédat v Switzerland
Guest post by Dirk Voorhoof, Ghent University.*
The Grand Chamber strikes again: Bédat v. Switzerland
Criminal conviction of journalist for having published documents covered by investigative secrecy in a criminal case is no violation of Article 10 ECHR
It has become common knowledge amongst “Strasbourg observers” that the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights doesn’t have the best reputation in terms of guaranteeing the right of freedom of expression and information. In earlier cases such as [Read more…] about Grand Chamber Judgment Bédat v Switzerland
Rechtbank: Retweet is not (necessarily) an Endorsement
Vorige week donderdag deed de rechtbank Den Haag uitspraak in de Context-zaak, waarin veroordelingen zijn uitgesproken voor deelname aan een criminele organisatie met terroristisch oogmerk (de ‘jihadzaak’). In deze zaak werd de verdachten onder meer verweten dat ze opruiende jihadistische tweets hadden geretweet. De rechtbank boog zich over de vraag of het retweeten van dat soort berichten op zichzelf strafbaar kan [Read more…] about Rechtbank: Retweet is not (necessarily) an Endorsement
Google Spain in the Netherlands III: does convicted murderer have ‘right to be forgotten’?
The ground-breaking Costeja González judgment of the ECJ was followed in the Netherlands by several proceedings about the ‘right to be forgotten’. This was also the objective of recent preliminary relief proceedings brought by a convicted killer. Having served his term, he has been trying to erase all online links between his name and the crime. In these attempts he met with resistance from an interest group and the father of his victim, who make online publications about the murder. The killer started preliminary relief proceedings for the removal and keeping removed of publications of the defendants containing both his name and details of his crime. The Court in preliminary relief proceedings ruled (pdf) [Read more…] about Google Spain in the Netherlands III: does convicted murderer have ‘right to be forgotten’?
Dutch court (II): Google Spain Ruling Not Meant to Suppress News Reporting
In the fall of 2014 the Amsterdam Court was offered a chance to shed light on the interpretation of the Google Spain (Costeja) decision of the European Court of Justice, which created a ‘right to be forgotten’. The court then ruled that Google was right to refuse to remove links to refused a convicted criminal to profit from this judgment. To our knowledge, this was the first decision in its kind. Last week, the Amsterdam court ruled on yet another request to be forgotten. It again found in favour of Google and this time decided that the right of removal is not meant to [Read more…] about Dutch court (II): Google Spain Ruling Not Meant to Suppress News Reporting
