Validation of filtering mechanisms on social media 

 The Court of Justice has validated the famous article 17, the so-called "YouTube" article, of the Directive on copyright in the digital single market.

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Social network content hosts are now liable for content they host that infringes copyright, unless they can demonstrate the deployment of measures (preventive and curative) to block illegal content and prevent its appearance. In practice, such measures are synonymous with content filtering technologies, the best known of which is YouTube's ContentID.

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Some criticized the censorship of the Internet through the general surveillance of content, which is prohibited under European law. The Court endorsed the controversial article, emphasizing that the Directive contains sufficient safeguards to ensure respect for users' right to freedom of expression.

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This ruling completes the establishment of filtering technologies as a real legal obligation for online platforms.

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