The actual content was hosted by YouTube, but\u00a0Mediaset\u2019s legal team went after Facebook instead. It asked the social network to remove the postings of a particular Facebook group, which were shared with derogatory comments about the people involved in the show.<\/p>\n
This week the Court of Rome ruled that Facebook is indeed liable for failing to remove the copyright-infringing hyperlinks. The company was ordered to pay\u00a0\u20ac9,000 in damages as a result. As Facebook is also held liable for defamation, the total damages add up to\u00a0\u20ac35,000.<\/p>\n
While the damages amount is not groundbreaking, for Mediaset this was a matter of principle.<\/p>\n
TorrentFreak spoke to Mediaset lawyer Alessandro La Rosa, who handled the case together with colleagues at the\u00a0Previti<\/a>\u00a0law firm. The Court of Rome\u2019s order shows intermediaries such as Facebook can be held liable when they fail to respond in copyright infringement allegations.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite Facebook\u2019s role as a passive hosting provider, in this case, it\u2019s obliged to take down and prevent access to illicit information uploaded on its website. The provider is expected to carry out its economic activity with the due diligence that\u2019s reasonably expected to identify and prevent the reported illegal activities,\u201d Mr.\u00a0La Rosa tells us.<\/p>\n Mediaset sent the first notice regarding the infringing activity in 2010, but Facebook decided not to take any action at the time. Although the offensive group was identified, the takedown requests didn\u2019t include a link to the infringing content, Facebook argued.<\/p>\n The Court considered this defense but concluded that a link to the infringing hyperlink isn\u2019t necessary. Facebook was alerted to the group and the alleged activities and could have taken action based on this information.<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to the Court, the identification of URL is only technical data which doesn\u2019t coincide with the individual harmful content present on the platform, but only indicates the \u2018place\u2019 where this content is found and, therefore, isn\u2019t an indispensable prerequisite for its identification,\u201d\u00a0Mr.\u00a0La Rosa says.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting that Mediaset never attempted to remove the actual infringing clip from YouTube. Mediaset mostly wanted Facebook to deal with the Facebook group which posted the infringing material in a defamatory context.<\/p>\n Mediaset is happy with the outcome according to its legal team. Since the verdict is partly based on EU law,\u00a0Mr.\u00a0La Rosa believes that it will help other rightsholders to make a case against Facebook and similar platforms going forward.<\/p>\n Facebook is currently considering whether to file an appeal. The company can easily pay the damages, but it may be worried about the broader implications of the ruling.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are examining the decision of the Court of Rome,\u201d a\u00a0Facebook\u00a0spokesperson told\u00a0Adnkronos<\/a>\u00a0in response, adding that it takes the protection of copyright holders \u201cvery seriously\u201d.<\/p>\n Source: \u00a0![\"TorrentFreak\"](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/torrentfreak.png\")
<\/a> TorrentFreak.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"