Fair copyright for the digital age : filtering as an enforcement mechanism under the directive on copyright in the digital single market

Abstract

The enactment of the "Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC", hereinafter referred to as the "DSM Directive", particularly through Article 17 (ex-Article 13), gave rise to many controversies such as threats over the internet's downfall as well as several serious criticisms centered around human rights concerns, including freedom to access to knowledge, freedom of expression and right to data privacy. The advancement of technology and the creation of new technology such as on line filters, brought into play from an inferred analysis of the final wording of Article 17, certainly have a role to play in assessing the reality of fair copyright in today's digital age and whether or not the rights of all the interested parties are properly in equilibrium. In this dissertation the author will investigate how new legal obligations introduced by the DSM Directive, impact upon the implementation of filtering mechanisms and in turn interested parties such as OCSSPs, copyright holders and users. Does the final text provide a fair balance for all in so far as safeguarding the different rights and interests involved in relation to filtering technology? In light of this, the author will seek to determine whether or not the ideal rationale of copyright has shifted in the digital age stemming closer or away from the original purpose intended by the founding founders of copyright. Ultimately, the author contends that whilst the DSM Directive is far from perfect, it manages to take a step forward both in terms of a better balance of rights and towards the ideal copyright rationale.