Previous 1 / 11 Next

3/8/23, 13:29 ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2020:4966, Rechtbank Amsterdam, C/13/689184 / KG ZA 20-783 ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2020:4966 Instantie Rechtbank Amsterdam Datum uitspraak 13-10-2020 Datum publicatie 13-10-2020 Zaaknummer C/13/689184 / KG ZA 20-783 Rechtsgebieden Civiel recht Bijzondere kenmerken Kort geding Inhoudsindicatie Bezwaren tegen COVID-19 beleid van Facebook afgewezen. Facebook mag pagina’s offline halen die in strijd zijn met haar eigen COVID-19 beleid. Vindplaatsen Rechtspraak.nl MF 2020-6, nr. 18 met annotatie van A.W. Hins Computerrecht 2021/66 met annotatie van M. Klos share Verrijkte uitspraak Uitspraak vonnis RECHTBANK AMSTERDAM Afdeling privaatrecht, voorzieningenrechter civiel zaaknummer / rolnummer: C/13/689184 / KG ZA 20-783 MDvH/EB Vonnis in kort geding van 13 oktober 2020 in de zaak van 1. de stichting STICHTING SMART EXIT, gevestigd te Amsterdam, 2. de stichting STICHTING VIRUSWAARHEID, https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/#!/details?id=ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2020:4966 1/11

Select target paragraph3

● ● ●

Smart Exit c.s. v. Facebook

Case Law

Country

Netherlands

Country Location

Latitude: 52.36339133405984

Longitude: 5.811348852367721

Country Location (linked Case Law): Netherlands

Decision Date: Oct 13, 2020

Case Status: Closed

Case Outcome (Procedural)

Inadmissible
Motion Denied

Case Outcome (Disposition)

Injunction, Order, or Motion Denied/Vacated

Keywords

Content Regulation / Censorship
Digital Rights

Judicial Body: First Instance Court

Court Name: The Amsterdam District Court

Case Number: C/13/689184/KGZA 20-783

Case Summary: The Amsterdam District Court denied the reinstatement of two Facebook pages that were removed by the company as they contained information that violated Facebook's Covid 19 policy. In 2020 Facebook deleted the pages “No against 1,5 meters” and “Viruswaanzin”, arguing that they breached their Policy on Covid 19 information. Plaintiffs Smart Exit, Viruswaarheid, and Plaintiff 3 (collectively referred to as Smart Exit c.s.) sued Facebook requesting the pages to be reinstated. The Court considered that in this case there was no horizontal direct effect of Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, concluding that as a private party, Facebook has no obligation to ensure that the right to freedom of expression must be exercised on their platform. Regarding the horizontal indirect effect of Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, the Court determined that the removal of the pages was a legitimate restriction of freedom of expression under Art. 10(2) since Facebook created and applied its COVID-19 policy at the request of the European Commission —which asked social media platforms to help prevent the spreading of medical misinformation about COVID-19 in the context of protecting public health. Moreover, the Court held that Facebook’s property rights constitute a second legitimate restriction to Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Case Significance: Through this decision, the Court contracted expression insofar as it allowed the removal of two Facebook pages. Nonetheless, in doing so, the Court weighed this right against Facebook’s property rights and the protection of public health, thus following international standards regarding valid restrictions to Art. 10 of the ECHR. The Court’s reasoning took into consideration the pressing need to combat misinformation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the European Commission itself requested from social platforms guidelines to moderate harmful content.

This case did not set a binding or persuasive precedent either within or outside its jurisdiction. The significance of this case is undetermined at this point in time.

Related Caselaw (self)

Netherlands

Source URL: Global Freedom of Expression

Collection

CIPIT

Date Updated: Sep 29, 2023

Primary Documents

ECLI_NL_RBAMS_2020_4966-Rechtbank-Amsterdam-C_13_689184-_-KG-ZA-20-783.pdf
Dutch
Download View

CYRILLA: Global Digital Rights Law

Select target paragraph3

Smart Exit c.s. v. Facebook

Primary Documents

Notifications