International Journal of Communications Law & Policy

THE LIABILITY OF INTERNET ACCESS PROVIDERS
A PROPOSAL FOR REGULATION BASED ON THE RULES CONCERNING ACCESS PROVIDERS IN GERMANY
By Christian Koenig, Ernst Röder and Sascha Loetz

Download the Paper in PDF Format: IJCLP Web-Doc 7-3-1999

Abstract

The liability for content transmitted over the Internet is a pivotal issue in the context of Internet regulation. Germany has been eager to pass written rules on the subject matter . However, as recent case law has shown, these rules are fraught with problems. Even taking the inadequacy of the judge's interpretation in the Somm-case into account, the legal texts on which the judgement was based are also at least partly at fault. Considering the numerous plurilateral and multilateral activities in the context of the Internet, any law governing the Internet is subject to wide scrutiny. Furthermore, liability of Access Providers might become virulent in the context of European regulation . Presumably, the idea of relying solely on the Netiquette to provide adequate standards for the Internet will not be regarded as sufficient regulation and written rules might be framed ei-ther imitating or improving on the German rules. Therefore, a reading of the present German legal text and proposals for reform might be of relevance for future regulatory concepts. Therefore, the authors would like to explain the present legal text on Access Providers' liability in Germany, point out the difficulties involved and then suggest a formula which might also bear fruit for legislative projects of other countries.