EU Court bans Internet filters against file sharing

 

ISPs may not be under any obligation to filter the illegal exchange of music files between Internet users to avoid.

The control of the Internet on so-called file sharing between computers should not be prescribed, among other reasons, because this could also lead to the blocking of permissible communications, the ECJ ruled in Luxembourg.

Online traffic is not allowed under the general supervision

The court ruled that to the Belgian copyright organization SABAM. This had to force the provider Scarlet Extended, set up filters to the data exchange. SABAM wanted to keep using so-called peer-to-peer networks - Music and changed so that the copyright is being violated - in which individual computers are connected. File sharing protocols like BitTorrent are used but also for the legal distribution of large amounts of data.

The Association of German eco Internet Industry welcomed the decision. The EU's highest court ruled that the Directive on electronic commerce, prohibits a general monitoring of the network information transmitted. The right to property is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. But this does not mean "that this law would provide protection to be unlimited and, therefore, unconditionally."

The establishment of a filter system would also lead to a "qualified impairment of entrepreneurial freedom" of the Internet provider. He would be a "complex, costly, long-term" forced computer science system at their own expense. Also contrary, such a filter against the protection of personal data. Moreover, a filter could not possibly distinguish between protected and non protected data - this could lead to blocking acceptable content.

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