Social-Media
YouTube not compelled to inform film pirates, the top European court judgments
YouTube is not required by Google to hand over e-mail or IP addresses to users who illegal films to their video platform. The Top Court of Europe ruled on Thursday that a balance must be struck between personal data protection and copyright.
In a case involving German film distributor Constantin Film Verleih it was the Court of Justice of the European Union of Luxembourg which tried to provide a guidance on what video platforms should be used to combat piracy in the film industry.
In 2013 and 2014, Youtube and Google, which had distribution rights for movies Scary Movie 5 and Parker in Germany, requested that users of those films that illegally downloaded these movies on Youtube submit the e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and ip addresses.
After Alphabet subsidiaries Google and YouTube refused to provide the details, Constantin Film brought his case before the German court.
The US tech companies received support from the CJEU.
When films are illegally uploaded to an online platform like YouTube, the rights holder may require that the Operator provide only an email address of the user concerned, but his / her email address, IP address or telephone number in accordance with the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive," judges stated.
They stated that EU countries could choose to provide better protection for holders of intellectual property rights, but the balance between various fundamental rights must be fair and proportional.
A Youtube spokesperson has stated the commitment of Google and YouTube to protect their users' copyrights and privacy.
She stated in an emailed statement that "the CJEU decision today provides legal clarification of what information is suitable for sharing with copyright holder.
© Thomson Reuters 2020
