Filtering for Copyright Enforcement in Europe after the Sabam Cases
This study examines the legal constraints imposed by the Court of Justice of the European Union on internet service providers’ implementation of copyright filtering systems following the Sabam case, with particular attention to the potential infringement of fundamental rights such as privacy and freedom of information. Through doctrinal analysis, a fundamental rights balancing framework, and an assessment of digital copyright governance mechanisms, the research demonstrates that although the Court rejected the mandatory deployment of filtering systems as unlawful, its rulings fall short of adequately safeguarding the substantive essence of these fundamental rights. By redefining the legitimacy boundaries of copyright enforcement from a fundamental rights perspective, this work highlights the limitations of judicial practice in protecting digital rights and offers theoretical insights for refining the EU’s digital copyright governance framework.