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ARTICLE · 01 SEPTEMBER 2026

CJEU Clarifies The Limits Of The Hosting Safe Harbour For Online Platforms

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The Court of Justice of the European Union has delivered landmark judgments that fundamentally reshape how online platforms can claim immunity from liability for user-generated content. These decisions establish that algorithmic content distribution and commercial partnerships with creators may strip platforms of their safe harbour protections, forcing a reassessment of how social media companies, video-sharing services, and digital marketplaces structure their operations and revenue models.

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Marie McGinley
Marie McGinley
Davinia Brennan
Davinia Brennan
Sarah Jayne Hanna
Sarah Jayne Hanna
Eoin Burke
Eoin Burke
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The Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) recently delivered two judgments with great significance for the passive hosting safe harbour under the Digital Services Act (“DSA”)

In joined cases Case C-188/24 and Case C-190/24 WebGroup Czech Republic and NKL Associates and Coyote System, the CJEU provided clarification on the impact of algorithms on the scope of the hosting exemption under Article 14 of Directive 2000/31/EC, the e-Commerce Directive, with important implications also for its successor, the DSA. In case C-421/24 AGCOM v Google Ireland the CJEU applied this earlier decision, as well as establishing the impact of commercial partnership agreements on the hosting exemption.

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