The Association of Commercial Television in Europe has welcomed plans by the European Commission to tackle the issue of online piracy.
The Communication’s self-regulatory approach involves online platforms taking greater responsibility for removing illegal content uploaded by users.
“Illegal online versions destroy the financial value of TV and film productions and ultimately lead to less content for audiences to enjoy. The Commission’s ambitions for the Digital Single Market will only be met if it tackles this destruction of value in the audio-visual sector,” said Agnieszka Horak, ACT’s Director of Legal and Public Affairs. “Respect for intellectual property rights is one of the standard rules of business. Until now, modest attempts to ease online platforms into taking greater responsibility for the content they host have been unfairly criticised.”
As part of ongoing reforms of the Copyright Directive, the Commission is also proposing online platforms should be responsible for either seeking copyright licences or removing unlicensed works.
These reforms are necessary and entirely consistent with existing case law and legislation. ACT has consistently supported action to address the harm caused by unlawful online hosting of TV programmes and films.
