Publications

CommonsDB feasibility study, part 2 external link

McCarthy, D., Keller, P., Quintais, J., Szkalej, K. & Posth, S.

pp: 49, 2026

Abstract

Today, part 2 of the CommonsDB Feasibility Study has been published. Building on the initial analysis presented in part 1, the second part of the study assesses the feasibility of the approach in light of real-world developments. Since May 2025, the team has moved the prototype into active testing, deployed public APIs, and launched the CommonsDB Explorer. Part 2 of the study evaluates the technical, legal, and operational performance of the system as it handles live data from our project partners. It offers a detailed look at how we are solving the challenge of creating a trustworthy, decentralized registry for Public Domain and openly licensed works.

Links

https://www.commonsdb.org/blog/commonsdb-feasibility-study-part-2-from-design-to-deployment/

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Op-Ed: “Geo-Blocking Isn’t Perfect – and That’s Okay: AG Rantos on VPNs and Copyright Borders in Anne Frank Fonds (C-788/24)” external link

Izyumenko, E.

EU Law Live, 2026

Abstract

Digital accessibility continues to test the territorial logic of EU copyright law. In his Opinion of 15 January 2026 in Anne Frank Fonds (C-788/24), Advocate General Rantos considers a question that is simple in formulation yet significant in consequence: whether online availability amounts to an unlawful communication to the public in a Member State where copyright still subsists, even though access is geo-blocked but can be bypassed using a VPN. His answer is a calibrated ‘no – but.’ He rejects the idea that online communications must be aimed at a specific national public to fall within EU copyright law. At the same time, he draws a firm line: effective geo-blocking precludes a communication to the public in the blocked State, even if circumvention is technically possible. The Opinion thus seeks to preserve the territorial fabric of EU copyright without allowing the most restrictive national regimes to project their effects across borders.

Links

https://eulawlive.com/op-ed-geo-blocking-isnt-perfect-and-thats-okay-ag-rantos-on-vpns-and-copyright-borders-in-anne-frank-fonds-c-788-24/

RIS

TY  - BLOG
AU  - Izyumenko, E.
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026-01-19
T1  - Op-Ed: “Geo-Blocking Isn’t Perfect – and That’s Okay: AG Rantos on VPNs and Copyright Borders in Anne Frank Fonds (C-788/24)”
JO  - EU Law Live
UR  - https://eulawlive.com/op-ed-geo-blocking-isnt-perfect-and-thats-okay-ag-rantos-on-vpns-and-copyright-borders-in-anne-frank-fonds-c-788-24/
AB  - Digital accessibility continues to test the territorial logic of EU copyright law. In his Opinion of 15 January 2026 in Anne Frank Fonds (C-788/24), Advocate General Rantos considers a question that is simple in formulation yet significant in consequence: whether online availability amounts to an unlawful communication to the public in a Member State where copyright still subsists, even though access is geo-blocked but can be bypassed using a VPN.

His answer is a calibrated ‘no – but.’ He rejects the idea that online communications must be aimed at a specific national public to fall within EU copyright law. At the same time, he draws a firm line: effective geo-blocking precludes a communication to the public in the blocked State, even if circumvention is technically possible. The Opinion thus seeks to preserve the territorial fabric of EU copyright without allowing the most restrictive national regimes to project their effects across borders.
ER  -

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Online publication{nokey,
	title = {Op-Ed: “Geo-Blocking Isn’t Perfect – and That’s Okay: AG Rantos on VPNs and Copyright Borders in Anne Frank Fonds (C-788/24)”},
	author = {Izyumenko, E.},
	year = {2026},
	date = {2026-01-19},
	journal = {EU Law Live},
	abstract = {Digital accessibility continues to test the territorial logic of EU copyright law. In his Opinion of 15 January 2026 in Anne Frank Fonds (C-788/24), Advocate General Rantos considers a question that is simple in formulation yet significant in consequence: whether online availability amounts to an unlawful communication to the public in a Member State where copyright still subsists, even though access is geo-blocked but can be bypassed using a VPN.

His answer is a calibrated ‘no – but.’ He rejects the idea that online communications must be aimed at a specific national public to fall within EU copyright law. At the same time, he draws a firm line: effective geo-blocking precludes a communication to the public in the blocked State, even if circumvention is technically possible. The Opinion thus seeks to preserve the territorial fabric of EU copyright without allowing the most restrictive national regimes to project their effects across borders.},
}

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Het inzagerecht ex art. 15 AVG en het beroep op gerechtvaardigde belangen, met name de bescherming van bedrijfsgeheimen en platformbeveiligingssystemen download

Irion, K., Leerssen, P. & Metikoš, L.

2026

Abstract

Wij, onderzoekers verbonden aan het Instituut voor Informatierecht aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam, delen in dit stuk onze juridische expertise met betrekking tot het geschil tussen Twitter International Unlimited Company, of ‘TIUC’, (appellant) en dhr. Danny Mekić (geïntimeerde). Als specialisten in het informatierecht, delen wij inzichten uit ons onderzoek naar gegevensbescherming, bedrijfsgeheimen en platformregulering. Deze bijdrage leveren wij pro bono en zonder enig persoonlijk belang te hebben in de uitkomst van de zaak. Onze beweegreden voor het schrijven van deze opinie, is dat wij deze zaak van groot belang achten voor de rechtsontwikkeling van het inzagerecht, het recht op een uitleg en meer in het algemeen voor de verhouding tussen platformtransparantieregels en diens beperkingsgronden.

Links

Het inzagerecht ex art. 15 AVG, K. Irion, P. Leerssen, L. Metikoš

bedrijfsgeheim, belangenafweging, Inzagerecht, log files, transparentie

RIS

TY  - GEN
AU  - Irion, K.
AU  - Leerssen, P.
AU  - Metikoš, L.
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026-01-13
T1  - Het inzagerecht ex art. 15 AVG en het beroep op gerechtvaardigde belangen, met name de bescherming van bedrijfsgeheimen en platformbeveiligingssystemen
UR  - https://www.ivir.nl/publications/het-inzagerecht-ex-art-15-avg-en-het-beroep-op-gerechtvaardigde-belangen-met-name-de-bescherming-van-bedrijfsgeheimen-en-platformbeveiligingssystemen/expert-opinie-het-inzagerecht-ex-art-15-avg-k-irion-p-leerssen-l-metikos/
AB  - Wij, onderzoekers verbonden aan het Instituut voor Informatierecht aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam, delen in dit stuk onze juridische expertise met betrekking tot het geschil tussen Twitter International Unlimited Company, of ‘TIUC’, (appellant) en dhr. Danny Mekić (geïntimeerde). Als specialisten in het informatierecht, delen wij inzichten uit ons onderzoek naar gegevensbescherming, bedrijfsgeheimen en platformregulering. Deze bijdrage leveren wij pro bono en zonder enig persoonlijk belang te hebben in de uitkomst van de zaak. Onze beweegreden voor het schrijven van deze opinie, is dat wij deze zaak van groot belang achten voor de rechtsontwikkeling van het inzagerecht, het recht op een uitleg en meer in het algemeen voor de verhouding tussen platformtransparantieregels en diens beperkingsgronden.
K1  - bedrijfsgeheim
K1  - belangenafweging
K1  - Inzagerecht
K1  - log files
K1  - transparentie
ER  -

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article{nokey,
	title = {Het inzagerecht ex art. 15 AVG en het beroep op gerechtvaardigde belangen, met name de bescherming van bedrijfsgeheimen en platformbeveiligingssystemen},
	author = {Irion, K. and Leerssen, P. and Metikoš, L.},
	year = {2026},
	date = {2026-01-13},
	abstract = {Wij, onderzoekers verbonden aan het Instituut voor Informatierecht aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam, delen in dit stuk onze juridische expertise met betrekking tot het geschil tussen Twitter International Unlimited Company, of ‘TIUC’, (appellant) en dhr. Danny Mekić (geïntimeerde). Als specialisten in het informatierecht, delen wij inzichten uit ons onderzoek naar gegevensbescherming, bedrijfsgeheimen en platformregulering. Deze bijdrage leveren wij pro bono en zonder enig persoonlijk belang te hebben in de uitkomst van de zaak. Onze beweegreden voor het schrijven van deze opinie, is dat wij deze zaak van groot belang achten voor de rechtsontwikkeling van het inzagerecht, het recht op een uitleg en meer in het algemeen voor de verhouding tussen platformtransparantieregels en diens beperkingsgronden.},
	keywords = {bedrijfsgeheim, belangenafweging, Inzagerecht, log files, transparentie},
}

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Annotatie bij HvJEU 24 oktober 2024 (Kwantum Nederland en Kwantum België) download

Hugenholtz, P.B.

Auteurs & Media, 2026

Abstract

Dit is een belangrijk arrest over de verhouding tussen het unierecht en het internationale auteursrecht. Volgens het Europese Hof van Justitie geldt de door Richtlijn 2001/29/EG (de ‘InfoSoc-richtlijn’) geharmoniseerde auteursrechtelijke bescherming voor alle werken ongeacht hun land van oorsprong en mogen de lidstaten van de Unie de reciprociteitsregel van art. 2 lid 7 van de Berner Conventie (‘BC’) daarom niet toepassen om werken van toegepaste kunst afkomstig uit de Verenigde Staten auteursrechtelijke bescherming te ontzeggen.

Links

Annotatie_AM_2026

Copyright

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Music Recommender Systems And the Copyright Blind Spot: Conceptualising the Right to Be Heard external link

Szkalej, K.

pp: 15, 2025

Abstract

Digital music platforms project an image of unprecedented abundance, linguistic diversity, and borderless circulation, yet the infrastructures that organise musical discovery increasingly shape who is heard and who remains silent. This paper argues that while EU copyright law effectively secures lawful availability, rights management, and remuneration, it remains structurally indifferent to the allocation of cultural attention. As musical discovery is now mediated primarily through algorithmic recommender systems, visibility has ceased to be a by-product of access and has become a function of metadata, optimisation, and design. The resulting condition of being represented but not heard exposes a doctrinal blind spot in the European copyright acquis and raises broader constitutional concerns relating to artistic freedom, freedom of expression, and cultural participation. Against this backdrop the paper conceptualises a right to be heard as a relational and infrastructural dimension of cultural participation and explores whether prominence-based regulatory approach, inspired by the AVMS Directive, could offer a proportionate response to algorithmically mediated cultural exclusion in the internal market that is compatible with the freedom to conduct a business.

Links

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5967014

Copyright, music industry, recommender systems

RIS

TY  - UNPD
AU  - Szkalej, K.
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025-12-23
T1  - Music Recommender Systems And the Copyright Blind Spot: Conceptualising the Right to Be Heard
SP  - 15
UR  - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5967014
AB  - Digital music platforms project an image of unprecedented abundance, linguistic diversity, and borderless circulation, yet the infrastructures that organise musical discovery increasingly shape who is heard and who remains silent. 
This paper argues that while EU copyright law effectively secures lawful availability, rights management, and remuneration, it remains structurally indifferent to the allocation of cultural attention. As musical discovery is now mediated primarily through algorithmic recommender systems, visibility has ceased to be a by-product of access and has become a function of metadata, optimisation, and design. The resulting condition of being represented but not heard exposes a doctrinal blind spot in the European copyright acquis and raises broader constitutional concerns relating to artistic freedom, freedom of expression, and cultural participation. 
Against this backdrop the paper conceptualises a right to be heard as a relational and infrastructural dimension of cultural participation and explores whether prominence-based regulatory approach, inspired by the AVMS Directive, could offer a proportionate response to algorithmically mediated cultural exclusion in the internal market that is compatible with the freedom to conduct a business.
K1  - Copyright
K1  - music industry
K1  - recommender systems
ER  -

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Bibtex

Working paper{nokey,
	title = {Music Recommender Systems And the Copyright Blind Spot: Conceptualising the Right to Be Heard},
	author = {Szkalej, K.},
	year = {2025},
	date = {2025-12-23},
	pages = {15},
	abstract = {Digital music platforms project an image of unprecedented abundance, linguistic diversity, and borderless circulation, yet the infrastructures that organise musical discovery increasingly shape who is heard and who remains silent. 
This paper argues that while EU copyright law effectively secures lawful availability, rights management, and remuneration, it remains structurally indifferent to the allocation of cultural attention. As musical discovery is now mediated primarily through algorithmic recommender systems, visibility has ceased to be a by-product of access and has become a function of metadata, optimisation, and design. The resulting condition of being represented but not heard exposes a doctrinal blind spot in the European copyright acquis and raises broader constitutional concerns relating to artistic freedom, freedom of expression, and cultural participation. 
Against this backdrop the paper conceptualises a right to be heard as a relational and infrastructural dimension of cultural participation and explores whether prominence-based regulatory approach, inspired by the AVMS Directive, could offer a proportionate response to algorithmically mediated cultural exclusion in the internal market that is compatible with the freedom to conduct a business.},
	keywords = {Copyright, music industry, recommender systems},
}

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Evaluation Report D2.4: Critical legal analysis of the application of European election disinformation regulation to community-governed platforms external link

Fahy, R., Trogrlić, G. & van Hoboken, J.

2025

Abstract

The latest deliverable of the DEM-Debate project authored by the University of Amsterdam explores how the new EU legal framework on election disinformation applies to Wikipedia. The legal analysis evaluates, through critical lenses, the impact of the new rules on the functioning of community-governed platforms in addressing disinformation related to the 2024 European Parliament elections, drawing some preliminary conclusions on how to inform policy making: Wikipedia editorial rules together with its patrolling system are good examples from which future legislation on election disinformation can draw inspiration. The report starts by accounting for the latest developments in the application of the EU disinformation legal framework, including two rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and the stance adopted by the American administration and legislative bodies towards the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF). Then, it details the findings of the critical analysis of the EU legal framework.

Links

https://wikimedia.brussels/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/D2.4-Critical-Legal-Analysis.pdf

disinformation, elections, Online platforms, Regulation

RIS

TY  - RPRT
AU  - Fahy, R.
AU  - Trogrlić, G.
AU  - van Hoboken, J.
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025-10-31
T1  - Evaluation Report D2.4: Critical legal analysis of the application of European election disinformation regulation to community-governed platforms
UR  - https://wikimedia.brussels/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/D2.4-Critical-Legal-Analysis.pdf
AB  - The latest deliverable of the DEM-Debate project authored by the University of Amsterdam explores how the new EU legal framework on election disinformation applies to Wikipedia. The legal analysis evaluates, through critical lenses, the impact of the new rules on the functioning of community-governed platforms in addressing disinformation related to the 2024 European Parliament elections, drawing some preliminary conclusions on how to inform policy making: Wikipedia editorial rules together with its patrolling system are good examples from which future legislation on election disinformation can draw inspiration.

The report starts by accounting for the latest developments in the application of the EU disinformation legal framework, including two rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and the stance adopted by the American administration and legislative bodies towards the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF). Then, it details the findings of the critical analysis of the EU legal framework.
K1  - disinformation
K1  - elections
K1  - Online platforms
K1  - Regulation
ER  -

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Report{nokey,
	title = {Evaluation Report D2.4: Critical legal analysis of the application of European election disinformation regulation to community-governed platforms},
	author = {Fahy, R. and Trogrlić, G. and van Hoboken, J.},
	year = {2025},
	date = {2025-10-31},
	abstract = {The latest deliverable of the DEM-Debate project authored by the University of Amsterdam explores how the new EU legal framework on election disinformation applies to Wikipedia. The legal analysis evaluates, through critical lenses, the impact of the new rules on the functioning of community-governed platforms in addressing disinformation related to the 2024 European Parliament elections, drawing some preliminary conclusions on how to inform policy making: Wikipedia editorial rules together with its patrolling system are good examples from which future legislation on election disinformation can draw inspiration.

The report starts by accounting for the latest developments in the application of the EU disinformation legal framework, including two rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and the stance adopted by the American administration and legislative bodies towards the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF). Then, it details the findings of the critical analysis of the EU legal framework.},
	keywords = {disinformation, elections, Online platforms, Regulation},
}

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The interface of rights to access public sector information and copyright: Opinion of the European Copyright Society external link

van Eechoud, M., Griffiths, J., Husovec, M. & Sganga, C.

Kluwer Copyright Blog, 2026

Links

https://legalblogs.wolterskluwer.com/copyright-blog/the-interface-of-rights-to-access-public-sector-information-and-copyright-opinion-of-the-european-copyright-society/

access, Copyright, public sector information

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Music Metadata as a Fundamental-Rights Question, or EU’s Positive Obligations to Secure Cultural Visibility and Equality Online external link

Izyumenko, E.

2025

Abstract

Music metadata – credits, identifiers, language labels, territorial tags, and genre descriptors – functions as the operative infrastructure of streaming. It shapes what becomes searchable, recommendable, charted, and remunerated. This chapter argues that metadata is therefore not a neutral technical resource but a constitutional site where structural inequality is produced or mitigated. When metadata is sparse, standardised around dominant markets, or mis-specified, the resulting visibility and remuneration deficits disproportionately affect minority-language repertoires, music from smaller territories, field recordings and traditional archives, and women and non-binary creators. The chapter situates these “structural metadata harms” within the EU’s fundamental-rights framework, contending that Article 22 CFR (respect for cultural and linguistic diversity), read together with Articles 13 (artistic freedom), 17(2) (intellectual property), 21 (non-discrimination), and 23 (gender equality), constrains and guides metadata governance. Drawing on CJEU rights-balancing and ECtHR doctrines of positive obligations and indirect discrimination (via Article 52(3) CFR), it develops the claim that EU regulatory and standard-setting choices must secure the practical and effective enjoyment of cultural visibility and equal rights-realisation online.

Links

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5962574

RIS

TY  - CHAP
AU  - Izyumenko, E.
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025-12-26
T1  - Music Metadata as a Fundamental-Rights Question, or EU’s Positive Obligations to Secure Cultural Visibility and Equality Online
UR  - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5962574
AB  - Music metadata – credits, identifiers, language labels, territorial tags, and genre descriptors – functions as the operative infrastructure of streaming. It shapes what becomes searchable, recommendable, charted, and remunerated. This chapter argues that metadata is therefore not a neutral technical resource but a constitutional site where structural inequality is produced or mitigated. When metadata is sparse, standardised around dominant markets, or mis-specified, the resulting visibility and remuneration deficits disproportionately affect minority-language repertoires, music from smaller territories, field recordings and traditional archives, and women and non-binary creators. The chapter situates these “structural metadata harms” within the EU’s fundamental-rights framework, contending that Article 22 CFR (respect for cultural and linguistic diversity), read together with Articles 13 (artistic freedom), 17(2) (intellectual property), 21 (non-discrimination), and 23 (gender equality), constrains and guides metadata governance. Drawing on CJEU rights-balancing and ECtHR doctrines of positive obligations and indirect discrimination (via Article 52(3) CFR), it develops the claim that EU regulatory and standard-setting choices must secure the practical and effective enjoyment of cultural visibility and equal rights-realisation online.
ER  -

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Chapter{nokey,
	title = {Music Metadata as a Fundamental-Rights Question, or EU’s Positive Obligations to Secure Cultural Visibility and Equality Online},
	author = {Izyumenko, E.},
	year = {2025},
	date = {2025-12-26},
	abstract = {Music metadata – credits, identifiers, language labels, territorial tags, and genre descriptors – functions as the operative infrastructure of streaming. It shapes what becomes searchable, recommendable, charted, and remunerated. This chapter argues that metadata is therefore not a neutral technical resource but a constitutional site where structural inequality is produced or mitigated. When metadata is sparse, standardised around dominant markets, or mis-specified, the resulting visibility and remuneration deficits disproportionately affect minority-language repertoires, music from smaller territories, field recordings and traditional archives, and women and non-binary creators. The chapter situates these “structural metadata harms” within the EU’s fundamental-rights framework, contending that Article 22 CFR (respect for cultural and linguistic diversity), read together with Articles 13 (artistic freedom), 17(2) (intellectual property), 21 (non-discrimination), and 23 (gender equality), constrains and guides metadata governance. Drawing on CJEU rights-balancing and ECtHR doctrines of positive obligations and indirect discrimination (via Article 52(3) CFR), it develops the claim that EU regulatory and standard-setting choices must secure the practical and effective enjoyment of cultural visibility and equal rights-realisation online.},
}

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LAION Round 2: Machine-Readable but Still Not Actionable — The Lack of Progress on TDM Opt-Outs – Part 2 external link

Keller, P.

Links

https://legalblogs.wolterskluwer.com/copyright-blog/laion-round-2-machine-readable-but-still-not-actionable-the-lack-of-progress-on-tdm-opt-outs-part-2/

Artificial intelligence, Copyright, Text and Data Mining (TDM)

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LAION Round 2: Machine-Readable but Still Not Actionable — The Lack of Progress on TDM Opt-Outs – Part 1 external link

Keller, P.

Links

https://legalblogs.wolterskluwer.com/copyright-blog/laion-round-2-machine-readable-but-still-not-actionable-the-lack-of-progress-on-tdm-opt-outs-part-1/

Artificial intelligence, Copyright, Text and Data Mining (TDM)

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