Germany: Ruling on legal challenges against content moderation requirements in amended NetzDG

On 1 March 2022, the Administrative Court of Cologne ruled that certain provisions of the amended Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) are inapplicable since they violate EU regulations. Legal challenges were raised by both Google Ireland Ltd. and Meta Platforms Ireland Limited regarding content moderation provisions for video-sharing platform services. The Court ruled that the Act violates the "country of origin principle" of the E-Commerce Directive, according to which the undertakings operating in the EU have to comply only with the laws that apply at their European headquarters (in this case, in Ireland). The designation of the German Federal Office of Justice as the supervisory authority also violates the Directive for Audio-Visual Media Services, which requires the legal and functional independence of the media supervisory authorities. Since the Federal Office of Justice is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Justice it is therefore not considered independent. As a result, the unlawful provision of the NetzDG is inapplicable to Google Ireland Ltd. and Meta Platforms Ireland Limited.