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Google has lost its legal challenge against a €750,000 ($854,250) fine imposed by Italy over gambling advertisements on YouTube, after the European Union’s highest court ruled that the company may be held liable for content promoted through commercial partnerships.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said Thursday that Google cannot claim intermediary liability protection when it reviews a creator’s channel before entering a commercial partnership, Reuters reported.
The case stems from a fine issued by Italian regulators, which was upheld by an Italian administrative court in 2022. Google appealed the decision, prompting the Italian court to seek guidance from the Luxembourg-based CJEU.
Google argued that it was protected under EU telecommunications rules that exempt online platforms from liability for content uploaded by third parties. The gambling-related videos were uploaded by a YouTube content creator who had a commercial partnership with Google.
However, the CJEU ruled that the exemption applies only to platforms acting as neutral intermediaries that perform a strictly technical, automated, and passive role without knowledge of or control over the content they host.
The court said this protection does not apply when a platform reviews a creator’s channel, including its main theme, most-viewed or latest videos, and related metadata, for the purpose of entering into a commercial partnership.
“Google may be held liable for the YouTube videos of a content creator with whom it has a commercial partnership,” the court said in its judgment.
Major technology companies have repeatedly relied on intermediary liability protections to defend against efforts by regulators and users to hold them responsible for content uploaded to their platforms.
Google expressed its disappointment and added it wanted more clarity on the matter.
“We are disappointed by the CJEU’s decision, which we will need further clarity on. We will raise our arguments before the Council of State,” said a Google spokesperson.
The Italian administrative court will now resume proceedings and issue a final ruling based on the CJEU’s interpretation of EU law.