Democratic Discourse in the Digital Public Sphere: Re-imagining Copyright Enforcement on Online Social Media Platforms

Abstract

Within the current European Union (EU) online copyright enforcement regime-of which Article 17 of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive [2019] constitutes the seminal legal provision-the role of online content-sharing service providers (OCSSPs) is limited to ensuring that copyright owners obtain fair remuneration for content shared over their platforms (role of “content distributors”) and preventing unauthorized uses of copyright-protected content (“Internet police”). Neither role allows for a recognition of OCSSPs’ role as facilitators of democratic discourse and the duty incumbent on them to ensure that users’ freedom to engage in democratic discourse are preserved. This chapter proposes a re-imagining of the EU legal framework on online copyright enforcement-using the social planning theory of copyright law as a normative framework-to increase its fitness for preserving and promoting copyright law’s democracy-enhancing function.