Enforcement of European rights on a global scale

This chapter reviews global enforcement of European rights and the implications for copyright. Global extra-territorial enforcement of miscellaneous rights has emerged as a consistent trend in recent online regulation, both at international and EU level. In considering this trend, this chapter focuses on case law and policy making that face the riddle of extra-territorial application of online intermediaries’ obligations. This chapter describes, first, the historical origins of global enforcement and the complex issues that internet jurisdiction brings about. It then offers a panoramic overview of emerging global enforcement at the international level. Later, this chapter reviews to which extent global enforcement has been endorsed by the European legal system, both at EU and national level, with special emphasis on recent decisions from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), such as Google v CNIL and Glawischnig v Facebook. Finally, after a review of the political complexities surrounding global enforcement, the standards that might be applied for issuing global enforcement orders are discussed alongside their relevance for copyright.