New EU Court of Justice Ruling on Platform Liability Could Cause Collateral Damage to Freedom of Expression

A new EU Court of Justice judgment in the case Coyote System has raised concerns that platforms could lose key intermediary liability protections. The worry is that the court’s reasoning may treat algorithmic organization of user content as “control,” rather than merely structuring how information is displayed. That could incentivize proactive monitoring and filtering to reduce legal risk, even when speech is lawful. Civil society argues the change would collide with protections meant to prevent censorship and preserve freedom of expression online.