Potential implications of Directive 2019/790 on Copyright in the Digital Single Market in Albania

Abstract

Article 17 of Directive 2019/790 (EU) on copyright in the digital single market provides that platforms, the so-called online content-sharing service providers, perform acts of communication to the public when they give the public access to copyrighted works uploaded by their users, and this makes them directly liable. Therefore, to be exempted from liability, platforms must obtain appropriate authorizations from rightsholders for the dissemination of content uploaded by their users, or they must act preventively by making their “best efforts” to prevent the availability of infringing content and thus fulfilling a sort of duty of care, which consists of setting up automated monitoring and filtering systems to deal with unlawful online content. On a few occasions, the CJEU has admitted that monitoring and filtering measures may seriously limit users’ personal data and their freedom to receive or impart information, and imposing overly strict obligations on platforms may challenge their freedom to conduct business. This is one of the main reasons why the implementation process of the directive in the EU Member States was considered long and complex. Hence, the impact of Directive 2019/790 (EU) is expected to be considerable even for countries that are not (yet) EU members since they lack sufficient tradition in the field of copyright and particularly on the Internet, where infringements are even more challenging to identify and control. This article addresses the possible implications of the directive in Albania, an EU candidate country that tends to comply with the EU standards. My task is to help policymakers in non-EU countries, like Albania, by providing recommendations on the future implementation of the directive in their countries.