Freedom to Share: How the Law of Platform Liability Impacts Licensors and Users

The world over, copyright law is rapidly evolving to redefine the liability content sharing platforms  face for their users’ behaviour. These changes, including the introduction of “upload filters” and “notice-and-stay-down” regimes, are likely to have a chilling effect on platform users and profoundly undermine their fundamental freedom to share. Because sharing using open licenses, such as Creative Commons (CC) licenses, is presently highly dependent on the availability of platforms, this working group set out to map emerging trends around platform liability in various world regions and assess their impact on people’s freedom to share. In light of these trends, we also provide concrete policy recommendations for protecting the freedom to share in a world of tightening platform liability.