CJEU rejects Poland’s challenge to preventive upload filtering to combat copyright infringement on online platforms

On 26 April 2022 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered its long-awaited judgment in Poland v Commission and Parliament. In an action for annulment, Poland challenged certain parts of Article 17 of the Directive on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market (CDSM Directive). which it argued obliged certain online platforms to monitor user uploads. The Polish Government claimed that such an obligation constituted an unjustifiable limitation of the right to freedom of expression and information under Article 11 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (EUCFR).