Adesman & Asociații, Ticari İtibarın Korunması Davasında Yapay Zeka Destekli YouTube Videosunun Küresel Çapta Askıya Alınmasını Sağladı

Adesman & Asociații has secured a favourable ruling for Cramele Recaș S.A. in a dispute against Google, the Bucharest Tribunal ordering the temporary suspension, at the level of the platform YouTube, of a video, until the final settlement of the substantive dispute.

The litigation concerns the protection of the business reputation of one of Romania's leading wine producers in relation to a video material 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.

Implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in Romania: Judicial precedent in the protection of online rights

The judgment represents one of the first relevant judicial applications in the practice of 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 solution 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 be based on a verifiable factual basis.

Through this result, obtained by a team consisting of Diana Adesman, Managing Partner, and Ciprian Nicu, Partner at Adesman & Asociații, reaffirms his expertise 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.