Ms Claire Rush:

We have a number of concerns about the ruling. As of now, it is a general judgment and is being referred back to the national court in Austria for further guidance and information. It remains to be seen how its specifics and details will pan out. It does, at the outset, raise significant questions around exactly what we are talking about here today, namely, the responsibility and role of online services for moderating content, their role or responsibility over illegal content and obligations of monitoring and so forth. There are also very real freedom of expression concerns with how it could be applied in practice.

Another element that has been discussed widely, including in the media in the aftermath of the decision, and a concern we share, is that the judgment tends to cut against the widely accepted principle that a court in one jurisdiction should not have the ability to determine what is available, or should be seen or accessible in other jurisdictions. There are some concerning notes in the judgment and we are still considering them.