EU law and cross-border online disputes over defamation and copyright infringments: the need for a brand-new "less is more" normative approach

The new media and communication technologies have significantly increased the number of online cross-border disputes between individuals and businesses involving the security and protection of personal identity and intellectual creations. The digital era challenges the traditional methods of coordination between States, based on geographical localization, revealing a substantial gap in Internet governance world-wide, which leads to complex jurisdictional conflicts. The EU law approach for online torts disputes resolution shows both legislative gaps and critical interpretative solutions. Despite some initiatives for a substantive harmonization between MSs, the existing EU law instruments do not distinguish between offline and online torts. The paper highlights the non-suitability of the current EU regulation as to online disputes concerning personality rights and copyright infringements and proposes a brand-new “less is more” normative approach.