EU official states ISP content filtering may be illegal

A legal case against Belgian internet service provider (ISP) Scarlet has thrown up a legal opinion from an advocate general of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), saying that content filtering could be a breach of EU rights.

Pedro Cruz Villalón published the opinion during a case brought against Scarlet by the Belgian Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers. The organisation is seeking a court order for the ISP to either install equipment to block illegal content contained in peer-to-peer traffic or face a fine.

"The installation of that filtering and blocking system is a restriction on the right to respect for the privacy of communications and the right to protection of personal data, both of which are rights protected under the Charter of Fundamental Rights," he wrote in an ECJ statement.

"By the same token, the deployment of such a system would restrict freedom of information, which is also protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights."

He added that ISPs should not have to bear the cost of monitoring for illegal content on their networks, and any filtering process could only be applied if part of a nationally applied law that was clearly understandable.

"Dogmatic copyright repression is a total failure, and policy-makers now need to look for constructive alternatives to fund artistic creation in the digital environment," declares Jérémie Zimmermann, spokesperson for citizen advocacy group La Quadrature du Net.

"The conclusions should compel the commission to back away from its strategy to transform internet companies into a copyright police monitoring their users' activities to prevent any potential infringement."