| Delfi AS v. Estonia | |
|---|---|
| Submitted 4 December 2009 Decided 16 June 2015 | |
| Full case name | Delfi AS v. Estonia |
| Case | 64569/09 |
| Chamber | Grand Chamber |
| Language of proceedings | English, French |
| Court composition | |
| President Dean Spielmann | |
| Keywords | |
| Freedom of expression, intermediary liability | |
Delfi AS v. Estonia (2015) ECtHR 64669/09 is a European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case where the Grand Chamber.
The Estonian news site Delfi was held to be liable under Estonian law for anonymous defamatory comments posted online from its readers, even though they would be removed upon request.
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2025) |
By 15-2 majority, the Court held that it was not a violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and its guarantees of freedom of expression, for Estonian law to make a news site liable for anonymous defamatory comments. [1]
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2025) |
The ruling was unexpected, because of potential conflicts with the "actual knowledge" standard of Article 14 of the EU's E-Commerce Directive. [2] The ruling is influential in the development of national and European Union law, [3] particularly leading to the Digital Services Act.
Delfi AS was represented by attorneys-at-law Karmen Turk and Villu Otsmann from pan-Baltic law firm Triniti and the government of Estonia by Maris Kuurberg.[ citation needed ]
The case was followed shortly by Magyar Tartalomszolgáltatók Egyesülete and Index.hu Zrt v. Hungary, [4] which reached a different conclusion based on slightly different facts. [5]
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