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On 13 October 2020, the German Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection – BMJV) published a bill to adapt copyright law to the requirements of the digital single market. The bill mainly contains proposals for the implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/790 on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive) and Directive (EU) 2019/789 (the Satellite and Cable Directive, or SatCab Directive). In particular, the bill contains a proposal for a Urheberrechts-Diensteanbieter-Gesetz (Copyright Service Provider Act –...

A recent decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) dealt with photojournalism and crime reporting in the media. The ECtHR dismissed a claim on journalistic freedom with regard to the publication of a photo of a juvenile delinquent, P. It found that an injunction preventing any publication of a portrait photo of P. had not violated a newspaper’s right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). P. was 18 years old when he attacked and severely injured a man in a subway station by hitting and kicking him in the head....

In a report published on 15 September 2020, the Wissenschaftliche Dienst (research office) of the German Bundestag (lower house of parliament) noted that parts of the new law on combating right-wing extremism and hate crime were unconstitutional. The report raises concerns about the constitutionality of the law’s provisions on obligations to hand over deleted content and IP addresses to German prosecution authorities. It comes after the German Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) recently declared current rules on the disclosure of inventory data unconstitutional. The...

On 27 August 2020, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court – BGH), the highest German civil court, decided that the operator of a social network must provide a deceased user’s heir with access to the user’s account. The heir must be allowed to access the account and its content in the same way as the original account holder. However, they may not actively use the account. The case concerned a ruling of the Landgericht Berlin (Berlin regional court) of 17 December 2015, which had previously been confirmed by the BGH (judgment of 12 July 2018 – III ZR 183/17 –...

In August 2020, the Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media – KJM) of the German Landesmedienanstalten (state media authorities) updated its broadcasting and telemedia supervision criteria. New criteria were added to take account of new Internet trends, such as influencer marketing, and the dangers of online gaming addiction. The KJM is an organ of the Landesmedienanstalten. Germany’s federal structure, in which 14 state media authorities operate in the 16 Bundesländer (federal states), means that a joint body is needed...