Adesman & Asociații secures global suspension of an AI-generated YouTube video in a commercial reputation dispute
Adesman & Asociații has secured a favourable ruling for Cramele Recaș S.A. in a dispute against Google, with the Bucharest Tribunal ordering the temporary suspension, on the platform YouTube, of a video, pending the final determination of the main proceedings.
The litigation concerns the protection of the business reputation of one of Romania's leading wine producers in relation to a video publicly distributed via the YouTube platform, created using artificial intelligence technologies and containing statements that the company contested as lacking factual support and likely to affect its reputation and commercial interests.
Application of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in Romania: Judicial precedent in the protection of online rights
The judgment is one of the first significant judicial applications, in the practice of the Romanian courts, of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 on a Single Market for Digital Services (Digital Services Act – DSA) in the field of protecting rights and legitimate interests affected by content distributed online. The ruling also illustrates how the mechanisms established by the DSA can work together with interim measures ordered by national courts for the effective and immediate protection of the rights of natural and legal persons in the digital environment, including through obligations imposed on online platform providers.
Artificial intelligence and freedom of expression: The balance between online content and the factual basis
In a context where artificial intelligence tools enable the creation and distribution, at unprecedented speed, of materials with the potential for rapid amplification online, the case raises a topical issue regarding the balance between freedom of expression, the responsibility associated with publishing content, and the protection of commercial reputation. The court's judgment sends an important signal in this context: freedom of expression remains a fundamental value, yet this does not exclude the obligation for statements made in the digital environment, which are likely to affect the reputation of an individual or a commercial company, to rest on a verifiable factual basis.
With this result, obtained by a team comprising Diana Adesman, Managing Partner, and Ciprian Nicu, Partner, Adesman & Asociații reaffirms its experience in complex litigation at the intersection of technology law, reputation protection, freedom of expression and digital platform regulation, and contributes to the development of case law adapted to the challenges generated by artificial intelligence and the online environment.
