European Parliament releases study on online platform liability

The Panel for the Future of Science and Technology of the European Parliamentary Research Service published a study on the liability of online platforms. The study maps different types of online platform liabilities within the EU, including analysis of hard and soft law and self-regulation and national regulation. In addition, the study describes policy options for an efficient EU liability regime. Among the policy suggestions, there is a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of a) maintaining the status quo, b) raising awareness and media literacy, c) promoting self-regulatory tools, and d) reframing online platforms’ secondary liability by clarifying the conditions for liability exemptions under the e-Commerce Directive or by creating a harmonised regime of secondary liability.