The master's thesis "Filtering user content on the Internet as a measure of copyright protection" is intended to analyze the admissibility or obligation to use filters of user content by Internet access service providers and, above all, content sharing service providers.
The master's thesis is roughly divided into three sections. The first part focuses on current national legislation and technical insight into content filtering. The next strand is the relevant current European case law, which is in principle opposed to content filtering on the Internet. The case-law may change in particular regarding the obligation to filter content sharing providers, which I have discussed in the last section. The final section thus presents an analysis of the newly adopted Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. In particular, I focused on the analysis of the controversial Article 17 of the said Directive, which, with regard to filtering user content, is making fundamental changes in the light of the current rules and case-law of the European Courts. I cannot give a clear answer as to whether it will be mandatory to filter user content in the light of preventing copyright infringement. The interpretation of the adopted text of the directive is still rather uncertain, and it is only case law that will answer this crucial question.
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