The secondary liability of online intermediaries

Abstract

After providing a short analysis of the economic and social role of Internet intermediaries, this chapter will address the issue of the secondary liability of Internet intermediaries, namely, the issue of whether and to what extent, intermediaries - who bring together or facilitate transactions between third parties on the Internet - should be liable for, or in dependence of, illegal activities by their users. It will introduce the regulation of intermediaries’ secondary liability in the US and in the e-Commerce Directive, it will discuss the main issues related to the application of the Directive and will make some suggestions for the future.