03/02/2020 CURIA - Documents Directive 2000/31 Recitals 18, 41, 42 and 50 of Directive 2000/31 are worded as follows: Information Society services span a wide range of economic activities which take place online …; Information Society services are not solely restricted to services giving rise to online contracting but also, in so far as they represent an economic activity, extend to services which are not remunerated by those who receive them, such as those offering online information or commercial communications, or those providing tools allowing for search, access and retrieval of data; Information Society services also include services consisting … in providing access to a communication network ... This Directive strikes a balance between the different interests at stake and establishes principles upon which industry agreements and standards can be based. The exemptions from liability established in this Directive cover only cases where the activity of the Information Society service provider is limited to the technical process of operating and giving access to a communication network over which information made available by third parties is transmitted or temporarily stored, for the sole purpose of making the transmission more efficient; this activity is of a mere technical, automatic and passive nature, which implies that the Information Society service provider has neither knowledge of nor control over the information which is transmitted or stored. It is important that the proposed directive on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the Information Society and this Directive come into force within a similar time scale with a view to establishing a clear framework of rules relevant to the issue of liability of intermediaries for copyright and relating rights infringements at Community level.’ Article 2 of that directive, headed ‘Definitions’, provides: ‘For the purpose of this Directive, the following terms shall bear the following meanings: “Information Society services”: services within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Directive 98/34; “service provider”: any natural or legal person providing an Information Society service; Section 4, headed ‘Liability of intermediary service providers’, of Chapter II of the directive is comprised of Articles 12 to 15. Article 12 of Directive 2000/31, headed ‘Mere conduit’, provides: ‘1. Where an Information Society service is provided that consists of the transmission in a communication network of information provided by a recipient of the service, or the provision of access to a communication network, Member States shall ensure that the service provider is not liable for the information transmitted, on condition that the provider: does not initiate the transmission; does not select the receiver of the transmission; and does not select or modify the information contained in the transmission. … 3. This Article shall not affect the possibility for a court or administrative authority, in accordance with Member States’ legal systems, of requiring the service provider to terminate or prevent an infringement.’ Article 13 of Directive 2000/31, headed ‘Caching’, provides: ‘1. Where an Information Society service is provided that consists of the transmission in a communication network of information provided by a recipient of the service, Member States shall ensure that the service provider is not liable for the automatic, intermediate and temporary storage of that information, performed for the sole purpose of making more efficient the information’s onward transmission to other recipients of the service upon their request, on condition that: the provider does not modify the information; the provider complies with conditions on access to the information; the provider complies with rules regarding the updating of the information, specified in a manner widely recognised and used by industry; the provider does not interfere with the lawful use of technology, widely recognised and used by industry, to obtain data on the use of the information; and the provider acts expeditiously to remove or to disable access to the information it has stored upon obtaining actual knowledge of the fact that the information at the initial source of the transmission has been removed from the network, or access to it has been disabled, or that a court or an administrative authority has ordered such removal or disablement.’ Article 1 of that directive, headed ‘Beneficiaries’, provides: ‘1. Where an Information Society service is provided that consists of the storage of information provided by a recipient of the service, Member States shall ensure that the service provider is not liable for the information stored at the request of a recipient of the service, on condition that: the provider does not have actual knowledge of illegal activity or information and, as regards claims for damages, is not aware of facts or circumstances from which the illegal activity or information is apparent; or the provider, upon obtaining such knowledge or awareness, acts expeditiously to remove or to disable access to the information. 2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply when the recipient of the service is acting under the authority or the control of the provider. 3. This Article shall not affect the possibility for a court or administrative authority, in accordance with Member States’ legal systems, of requiring the service provider to terminate or prevent an infringement, nor does it affect curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=183363&doclang=EN&mode=lst&occ=first 2/10