European Court of Justice: spying with national copyright censorwalls is illegal

The European Court of Justice has issued a ruling that it is illegal for EU nations to spy on users with national censorship firewalls used to block entire websites accused of violating copyright. The Court held that blocking whole sites invades user privacy and restricts access to legitimate content and is an undue burden on free speech.

The Court ruled that issuing an order mandating the use of a filtering system where all subscriber communications are routinely monitored for infringements, not only on currently protected works but also those in the future, would be disproportionate and fraught with difficulty.
Scarlet would be required to install an expensive and complex computer system, which would run contrary to an EU Directive stating that measures to protect copyright may not be unnecessarily complicated or costly, the Court notes.
The implementation of such a filter would also be contrary to the requirement that an appropriate balance be found between the protection of intellectual property rights and the entrepreneurial freedom Scarlet is entitled to enjoy.

European Court: ISPs Can’t Spy on Pirating Customers

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: censorship • Copyfight • eu • free speech • law • privacy • surveillance

More at Boing Boing

Ants and Stars: Bruce Sterling and Jasmina Tesanovic visit the Sardinia Radio Telescope in Italy

The Snowden Principle

Stephen Douglas

Hmm, it looks to me that this is actually a ruling blocking examination of individual subscribers traffic – it doesn’t seem to mention blocking entire websites accused of assisting with copyright violation.
- Cory Doctorow
  
  Right you are — fixed.
Andrew Singleton

Cynical part of my brain says this ruling got passed down so the EU can continue to have fresh excuses to stare down their noses at us idiot deluded Americans.

Hopeful part of my brain suggests that maybe the world isn’t so hosed after all.
- elix
  
  If it was a stepping stone towards progress, I’d be fine with that.
daaain

Please let this mean that ACTA is effectively outlawed in the EU and thus won’t be passed by (or even better, removed from the agenda of) the EU Parliament!
Ashen Victor

Hurra!
Toffer99

Thank goodness there’s someone – the EU – to defend us from our own British Government.
- ffabian
  
  But I thought the British believe the Eu is secret nazi-german plot to undermine their glorious Empire.
  - Antinous / Moderator
    
    But I thought the British believe the Eu is secret nazi-german plot to undermine their glorious Empire.
    
    Froggy! Froggy! Froggy! Out! Out! Out!