The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that Google cannot claim liability exemptions for videos uploaded by YouTube creators enrolled in commercial partnership programmes, potentially widening the tech giant's legal exposure across Europe.
The Luxembourg-based court found that online platforms forfeit their safe-harbor protections when they go beyond passive technical hosting and review content to manage revenue-sharing agreements. The case stemmed from a €750,000 fine imposed by Italy's communications authority on Google over gambling advertisements that appeared in YouTube videos roughly four years ago. An Italian administrative court had referred the matter to the CJEU in 2022.
Google, a unit of Alphabet which reported a 32% rise in annual net profit to $132 billion last year, said it is carefully reviewing the ruling.