Privacy watchdog warns that ‘upload filter’ can erode fundamental rights

The European Data Protection Supervisor, the privacy regulator in the European Union, has warned in an official commentary on the ‘upload filter proposal’ that the wording must be chosen very precisely, otherwise, for example, the erosion of rights threatens.

Italian Giovanni Buttarelli is European Data Protection Supervisor and is moderately positive in his comments on the proposal. However, he advises the EU legislator to think carefully about the practical consequences of the rules in Article 13 of the proposal for the new Copyright Directive. This article essentially amounts to an ‘upload filter’ that requires internet platforms to check material uploaded by users for possible copyright infringement.

Buttarelli describes this subject as ‘delicate’. According to him, it is therefore very important that EU law is formulated very precisely and clearly on this point, because otherwise fundamental rights could be jeopardized by the introduction of Article 13. This mainly concerns freedom of expression and the right to privacy. He also warns that the upload filter can lead to distortion of competition.

According to Buttarelli, there are already attempts in the draft proposal to prevent the violation of fundamental rights; he welcomes these efforts. He also notes that the proposal is not intended to enable a general control of internet activities, but he sees risks here. Buttarelli believes that people are already being monitored a lot on the internet and there is a chance that this will get worse if the measures are not suitable and proportionate.

In addition, the European Data Protection Supervisor believes that the safeguards contained in the proposal must be complied with in practice. To check whether this actually happens, Buttarelli wants the translation of the EU directive into national law to be strictly checked and that the measures taken by providers and rightholders in the context of the upload filter are also checked. According to the Italian, these are additional safeguards that should be considered. He has no legal options to enforce matters, but his opinion is weighty and must be included in the decision-making process.