Stephanie Bodoni reports:
Belgacom SA (BELG)’s Internet-service provider Scarlet can’t be forced by a national court to block users from illegally sharing music and video files, the European Union’s highest court said.
“EU law precludes the imposition of an injunction by a national court which requires an internet service provider to install a filtering system with a view to preventing the illegal downloading of files,” the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg said in a statement after today’s ruling.
Read more on Bloomberg.
The European Digital Rights (EDRI) welcomed the ruling:
Today the Court of justice of the European Union ruled that a proposed measure ordering an Internet service provider to install a system of filtering of all electronic communications and blocking certain content in order to protect intellectual property rights was in breach of European law.
This result is hugely important, as it protects the openness of the Internet. The alternative would have been a decision which would ultimately have put all European networks under permanent surveillance and filtering. This would have had major negative consequences for both fundamental rights and the online economy in Europe.
Read more on EDRI.