By Brandon Butler
It’s April, spring is in the air, and the Supreme Court got it right in Cox v. Sony: liability for online copyright infringement belongs on the infringer, not on neutral service providers. How refreshing! In bleaker times, Sony had won an exorbitant, absurd billion dollar verdict against the ISP Cox, alleging the service was on the hook for its users’ infringement simply because it was aware that some users were infringing. Now that the Supreme Court has overturned that bizarre outcome, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the flowers of fair use and free expression are in bloom. As Fox Business reported, we praised the opinion for, among other things, safeguarding the open web. Overbroad secondary liability rules give service providers strong incentive to surveil and censor their users. The cost of that surveillance and censorship in turn limits who can enter the market for digital services, reducing consumer choice. Broad liability means fewer creative voices online and fewer creative platforms to host them, a bleak midwinter for free speech. Keeping liability within reasonable bounds isn’t just fair; it’s good public policy. Let a thousand flowers bloom!
I’m not the only one feeling sunny about Sony. Many Re:Create member organizations (including Re:Create itself) filed amicus briefs in the case and joined in a chorus of celebration last week when the Court ruled our way. If you rely on the open web, or on any general purpose technology, whether for work or play, then the Court ruled your way, too. Enjoy that sweet-smelling spring breeze – it’s the smell of internet freedom.