Coalition Contract [Expansion of Hosting Provider Liability]

After the federal elections in Germany in September 2013, the leaders of the two coalition parties have concluded a non-binding coalition agreement that includes expanded hosting provider liability for online copyright infringement. The agreement says one of the coalition’s aims is to combat mass infringements of copyright and therefore “internet service providers should take more responsibility.” The grand coalition plans to “improve enforcement in particular towards platforms whose business model is mainly based on the infringement of copyright.” To that end, the coalition would like to “ensure that such service providers no longer enjoy the general liability privilege as so-called hosting provider and in particular no longer receive advertising revenues.” However, it is unclear what precisely the grand coalition plans to do. See also CIS blog