Europe bans Internet filter operators to prevent illegal downloads

The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) has ruled today, the statement is available on this link , which is illegal for a judge to order a telecommunications operator to perform a general supervision of the data transmitted on its network to prevent discharges Illegal files protected by copyright. The statement said that the establishment of this type of filtering system violates the basic rights of clients, such as data protection or freedom to receive and impart information, and also violates the freedom of enterprise.

The ruling stems from a dispute between Scarlet , an Internet access provider, and Sabam , a management company of Belgian copyright. In 2004, Sabam reported that Internet users who used the services of Scarlet downloaded on the Internet without permission and without paying royalties, works contained in its catalog through networking peer to peer .

At the request of Sabam, president of the court in Brussels ordered, under pain of fine, Scarlet put an end to such violations, preventing any shipment or receipt by customers, through a peer to peer , file electronics to reproduce copyrighted works. Scarlet turned to the Brussels Court of Appeal, arguing that the injunction did not conform to EU law, since in fact imposed a general obligation to monitor communications on your network, which was incompatible with the directive on electronic commerce and fundamental rights. Belgian judges consulted the case to the EU.

In its ruling the ECJ noted that "the injunction is ordered by a system of filtering involves monitoring, in the interests of copyright holders, all made in electronic communications network Internet access provider affected oversight also is unlimited in time. " Therefore, "the injunction would involve a substantial breach of freedom of Scarlet company, since it would require to establish a computer system complex, costly, permanent and only at their expense," said the ruling.

"On the other hand, the effects of the injunction is not limited to Scarlet, as the filtering system may also violate the fundamental rights of its customers, namely their right to protection of personal data and freedom to receive and impart information, rights that are protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union ", highlight the Tribunal.

Furthermore, it "could violate the freedom of information, since it runs the risk that such a system does not distinguish sufficiently between legal and illegal content, so that its place could lead to blocking of lawful content communications."

Therefore, the ruling concludes that the filtering system "does not respect the requirement to ensure a fair balance between, on one hand, the right of intellectual property and other, free enterprise, the right to data protection and personal freedom to receive and impart information. "