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On 1 October 2021, the Rechtbank Midden-Nederland (District Court of Midden-Nederland — the Court) delivered a notable judgment on the media standards applicable to news and opinion websites operated by broadcasters. Notably, the Court laid down important principles on the freedom of broadcasters to criticise public figures, including in online news articles, and refused to order a rectification against a broadcaster sought by a public figure over various online articles. The case involved a well-known activist who campaigns against Covid-19 measures implemented by the Dutch government,...

On 6 October 2021, the Rechtbank Noord-Holland (District Court of Noord-Holland - the Court) delivered a significant judgment on the issue of politicians’ social media accounts and ordered the online platform LinkedIn to restore the account of a Member of Parliament (MP) that had been closed under its COVID-19 disinformation policy. However, the Court refused to order that LinkedIn reinstate specific posts concerning COVID-19 published by the politician which had been removed. The case involved Mr. Wybren van Haga, a Dutch politician and member of theTweede Kamer (House of Representatives),...

On 15 September 2021, the Amsterdam District Court (Rechtbank Amsterdam) delivered a significant judgment on the removal of a Dutch political party’s videos from YouTube, and the party’s subsequent seven-day prohibition on uploading, posting or livestreaming via YouTube. Notably, building upon earlier case law from the Dutch courts (see IRIS 2020-10/16), the Court applied the right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), but ultimately concluded that YouTube’s removal of the videos and imposition of a seven-day upload ban, was...

On 18 August 2021, the Amsterdam District Court (Rechtbank Amsterdam) delivered a notable judgment on YouTube’s removal of a Member of Parliament’s video in the run-up to the recent Dutch parliamentary elections. Crucially, the Court held that YouTube had not violated the politician’s freedom of expression, and although YouTube has a “vast reach”, it does not have an obligation to allow content that violates its COVID-19 misinformation policy. The case involved Mr. Wybren van Haga, a Dutch politician and member of the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer), who...

On 25 June 2021, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands (Hoge Raad) delivered an important decision on when an Internet service provider (ISP) is required to disclose customer data associated with IP addresses identified as being used for potential copyright infringement (see IRIS 2020-1/18 and IRIS 2020-7/16). Notably, the Supreme Court upheld a court of appeal ruling, concluding that an ISP (Internet Service Provider) was not required to provide customer data to a film distributor, that sought to pursue individuals for possible violation of intellectual property rights, as the privacy interests...