Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Models of Legal Liability for Social Networks: Between Germany and Portugal

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Rule of Law in Cyberspace

Part of the book series: Law, Governance and Technology Series ((LGTS,volume 49))

Abstract

The development of the Internet and the creation of social networks has given rise to a new kind of legal liability, where such intermediaries would, as a rule, be excluded from it. However, social networks have evolved to a status far different from the first internet service providers, site hosts, or search engines. Their activities have cast many doubts and problems over the traditional exclusion of liability. It is time to ponder a new and adequate liability model for internet intermediaries such as social networks. The present paper builds from the main EU approach exemplified by the Portuguese case and the German approach with its recently adopted law on the liability of social networks. Both cases are seen through the lenses of recent CJEU case law.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    See article Campos (2018), pp. 160–180.

  2. 2.

    Brogi and Parcu (2014) and Ombelet et al. (2016), p. 9.

  3. 3.

    Cubby, Inc. v. CompuServe, Inc., 776 F. Supp. 135 (S.D.N.Y. 1991).

  4. 4.

    “CompuServe has no more editorial control over such a publication than does a public library, book store, or newsstand, and it would be no more feasible for CompuServe to examine every publication it carries for potentially defamatory statements than it would be for any other distributor to do so” Cubby, Inc. v. CompuServe, Inc., 776 F. Supp. 135 (S.D.N.Y. 1991), p. 140.

  5. 5.

    Stratton Oakmont, Inc. v. Prodigy Services, Inc., 1995 WL 323710, 1995 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 229, 23 Media L. Rep. 1794 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. May 26, 1995).

  6. 6.

    Regarding the passage from a society centred in organisations and social groups to a society centred in networks and the difficulty of “accommodation” of law to the new scenario, see Ladeur (2004).

  7. 7.

    Helberger et al. (2008), p. 265.

  8. 8.

    Howkins (2001), pp. 88–117.

  9. 9.

    Reno v. ACLU, 521 U.S. 844 (1997), pp. 848–860.

  10. 10.

    Section 230, “[n]o provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider”.

  11. 11.

    Ardia (2010), pp. 373–506, p. 383.

  12. 12.

    Zeran v. America Online, lnc., 129 F.3d 327 (4th Cir. 1997).

  13. 13.

    Zenan v. America Online Inc. 129 F.3d 327 (4th Cir. 1997). Goldman (2017). The main difference herein is between publishers who have a more restrict type of liability and content providers who would have immunity in respect of liability towards third parties.

  14. 14.

    Holland et al. (2015), pp. 7 ff.

  15. 15.

    Urban and Quilter (2006), pp. 4 ff.

  16. 16.

    Soengas (2013), pp. 147–155 and Starbird and Palen (2012), pp. 7–16; Howard et al. (2011) Facebook and Twitter key to Arab Spring uprisings: report. thenational.ae.

  17. 17.

    Allcott and Gentzkow (2017), pp. 211–236.

  18. 18.

    Simitis (1989), pp. 157–175.

  19. 19.

    Klonick (2018), pp. 1598–1670.

  20. 20.

    Regarding the problem of confirmation bias and the manner pursuant to which social networks strengthen the trend to surround ourselves of positions that confirm our previous ideas, see Mcintyre (2018), pp. 35 ff.

  21. 21.

    See Balkin (2018), pp. 1159–1210 and Bassini (2019), pp. 182–197 and Quintel and Ulrich (2020), in print, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3298719 (last pageview on 14.02.20).

  22. 22.

    Balkin (2019) (last pageview on 14.02.20).

  23. 23.

    Cf. Klonick (2018), pp. 1662 ff.

  24. 24.

    Breuer, Staat, p. 192. See also, D. GRIMM, Kulturauftrag, pp. 110 ff.

  25. 25.

    Rossen-Stadtfeld, § 25, notes 2 ff. and 26 ff. See decision from the constitutional court in this regard, BVerfGE 12, 205, p. 260 ff.

  26. 26.

    DB-Drs. 13/7385, p. 16—On the need for a new law.

  27. 27.

    RL 2000/31/EG.

  28. 28.

    BGH, decision of 11 March 2004, Az. I ZR304/01.

  29. 29.

    BGH NJW, p. 150 ff. BGH, ZUM-RD 2013, p. 565. Regarding intermediaries and search sites, see decisions OLG Colonia, K&R 2017, p. 57 ff. In this regard, see Spindler.

  30. 30.

    EuGH, Decision v. 13.05.2014, C-131/12.

  31. 31.

    Decision of 04.10.2019, file no. C-18/18.

  32. 32.

    France has approved a law named “Loi n° 2020-766 du 24 juin 2020, visant à lutter contre les contenus haineux sur internet” and known as “Loi Avia”. Available at https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000042031970 (last seen on 14.06.2022).

  33. 33.

    For the translation of the German law into Portuguese and papers about German law, see Abboud, Campos and Jr (orgs) 2018.

  34. 34.

    Approved by Decree-Law no. 446/85, of 25 October.

  35. 35.

    Approved by Decree-Law no. 7/2004, of 1 July.

  36. 36.

    Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the internal market (“Directive on Electronic Commerce”).

  37. 37.

    Regarding its importance in the German law of social networks, see Wielsch (2018), p. 75 ff.

  38. 38.

    See Sousa Ribeiro (1998), pp. 530 ff.

  39. 39.

    As regards the regulated self-regulation model within the scope of social networks, see Abboud and Campos (2018), pp. 19–39.

  40. 40.

    See Sousa Ribeiro (1998), pp. 542 ff.

  41. 41.

    See Eifert (2018), pp. 74 ff.

  42. 42.

    The ECL foresees that such supervisory entity is sectorial when a special law foresees it, which does not occur within the field of social networks, thereby, verifying that the competences within this context are of the central supervisory entity, that the ECL indicates as being ANACOM (see article 35(2)).

  43. 43.

    See Eifert (2018), pp. 74 ff.

  44. 44.

    See Abboud and Campos (2018), pp. 19–39.

  45. 45.

    Regarding the possibility to consider the integration of this mechanism in the German law, see Eifert (2018), pp. 81 and 82.

  46. 46.

    “The idea of governance captures the power and scope that these private platforms wield through their moderating systems and lends gravitas to their role in democratic culture. Changes in technology and the growth of the internet have resulted in a ‘revolution in the infrastructure of free expression.’ The private platforms that created and control that infrastructure are the New Governors in the digital era”, cf. Klonick (2018), p. 1663.

  47. 47.

    No cases are, nonetheless, known and we do not know how ANACOM deals with these situations.

  48. 48.

    See Decision from the CJEU 3 October 2019, C-18/18, Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek against Facebook Ireland Limited, ECLI:EU:C:2019:821.

References

  • Abboud G, Campos R (2018) A autorregulação regulada como modelo do Direito proceduralizado. In: Abboud G, Nery Jr, Campos R (orgs) Fake News e Regulação. Thomson Reuteurs, São Paulo, pp 19–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Allcott H, Gentzkow M (2017) Social media and fake news in the 2016 election. J Econ Perspect XXXI-2:211–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ardia D (2010) Free speech savior or shield for scoundrels: an empirical study of intermediary immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Loyola Los Angel Law Rev XLIII-2:373–506

    Google Scholar 

  • Balkin J (2018) Free speech in the algorithmic society: big data, private governance, and new school speech regulation. Univ Calif Davis Law Rev, Davis, LI, pp 1159–1210

    Google Scholar 

  • Balkin J (2019) How to regulate (and not regulate) social media keynote address. Association for Computing Machinery Symposium on Computer Science and Law, New York City. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3484114

  • Bassini M (2019) Fundamental rights and private enforcement in the digital age. Eur Law J 25:182–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brogi E, Parcu P (2014) The evolving regulation of the media in Europe as an instrument for freedom and pluralism. EUI Working Paper RSCAS

    Google Scholar 

  • Campos R (2018) Fake News e autoregulação regulada das redes sociais no Brasil: fundamentos constitucionais. In: Campos R, Abboud G, Nery Jr (orgs) Fake News e regulação. Revista dos Tribunais. São Paulo, pp 160–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Eifert M (2018) A lei alemã para a melhoria da aplicação da lei nas redes sociais (NetzDG) e a regulação da plataforma. In: Abboud G, Nery Jr, Campos R (orgs) Fake News e Regulação. Thomson Reuteurs, São Paulo, pp 74 ff

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldman E (2017) The ten most important Section 230 rulings. Tulane J Technol Intellect Prop XX

    Google Scholar 

  • Helberger N et al (2008) User-created-content: supporting a participative information society, understanding the digital world. Study für the European Commission conducted by IDATE, TNO and IViR, Final Report

    Google Scholar 

  • Holland A, Bavitz C, Hermes J (2015) Online intermediaries case studies series: intermediary liability in the United States. Governance of Online Intermediaries, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard P et al (2011) Opening closed regimes: what was the role of social media during the Arab Spring?

    Google Scholar 

  • Howkins J (2001) The creative economy: how people make money from ideas. Penguin, pp 88–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Klonick K (2018) The new governors: the people, rules and processes governing online speech. Harv Law Rev CXXXI:1598–1670

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladeur K (2004) Der Staat gegen die Gesellschaft. Tübingen

    Google Scholar 

  • Mcintyre L (2018) Post-truth. Cambridge, Massachusetts

    Google Scholar 

  • Ombelet P, Kuczerawy A, Valcke P (2016) Legal/regulatory requirements analysis - media law and freedom of expression. Deliverable D1.2c, REVEAL project

    Google Scholar 

  • Quintel T, Ulrich C (2020) Self-regulation of fundamental rights? The EU code of conduct on hate speech, related initiatives and beyond. In: Petkova B, Ojanen T (orgs) Fundamental rights protection online: the future regulation of intermediaries. Cheltenham, Elgar. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3298719

  • Simitis S (1989) Die Loi le Chapelier: Bemerkungen zur Geschichte und möglichen Wiederentdeckung des Individuums. Kritische Justiz XX-2:157–175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soengas X (2013) The role of the internet and social networks in the Arab uprisings- an alternative to official press censorship. Communicar XXI-41:47–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Sousa Ribeiro (1998) O Problema do Contrato-As Cláusulas Contratuais Gerais e o Princípio da Liberdade Contratual. Almedina, Coimbra

    Google Scholar 

  • Spindler. In: Sprindler, Schmitz, Liesching (orgs) TMG. vor §§ 7-10, notes 89 ff

    Google Scholar 

  • Starbird K, Palen L (2012) How will the revolution be retweeted?: Information diffusion and the 2011 Egyptian Uprising. Proceedings of the 15th Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing (CSCW). Seattle, WA, pp 7–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Urban J, Quilter L (2006) Efficient process or chilling effects - takedown notices under Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Santa Clara High Technol Law J 22:621

    Google Scholar 

  • Wielsch D (2018) Die Ordnungen der Netzwerke: AGB – Code – Community Standards. In: Eifert M, Gostomzyk T (orgs) Netzwerkrecht - Die Zukunft des NetzDG und seine Folgen für die Netzwerkkommunikation. Nomos, Baden Baden

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Lisbon, School of Law, Lisbon, Portugal

    Domingos Soares Farinho

  2. School of Law of the Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany

    Ricardo Resende Campos

Authors
  1. Domingos Soares Farinho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ricardo Resende Campos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Domingos Soares Farinho .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Carlos Blanco de Morais

  2. Supremo Tribunal Federal, Brazilian Supreme Court (STF), Brasília, Brazil

    Gilmar Ferreira Mendes

  3. Faculty of Law, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Thomas Vesting

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Farinho, D.S., Campos, R.R. (2022). Models of Legal Liability for Social Networks: Between Germany and Portugal. In: Blanco de Morais, C., Ferreira Mendes, G., Vesting, T. (eds) The Rule of Law in Cyberspace. Law, Governance and Technology Series, vol 49. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07377-9_17

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07377-9_17

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-07376-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-07377-9

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation