網絡版權內容過濾措施的言論保護審查

網絡版權內容過濾措施已經成為預防網絡版權侵權的強有力工具，有望徹底改造現有網絡安全港規則。它在過濾侵權內容的同時，也可能妨礙公眾發表合法言論，引發言論保護方面的關切。由於版權侵權言論本身不受保護，同時「思想表達二分」、合理使用例外等版權規則已充分考慮言論保護的需求，決策者在設計內容過濾措施時無需考慮獨立的言論保護抗辯。版權內容過濾措施屬於內容中立的措施，應採用比較寬鬆的標準進行審查。只要網絡服務商將過濾對象限制在複製作品實質部分後的傳播行為，選擇合理的內容過濾標準，並配以必要的人工補救措施，則內容過濾措施能夠通過言論保護規則的審查。另外，網絡服務商主動過度過濾的可能性微乎其微。版權內容過濾雖然屬於限制言論的事前措施，但並不會實質增加公眾發表合法言論的成本。從言論保護的角度看，版權法要求部分網絡服務商承擔版權內容過濾義務，是合理的制度選擇。

Content filtering technologies have become a powerful tool for Internet service providers to prevent copyright infringement in cyberspace, and might lead to a complete overhaul of current Internet safe harbor rules. While filtering out infringing contents, such a tool might also restrict protected speech of the public, therefore raise concerns about its threat to freedom of speech. Since copyright-infringing content is not protected speech, and copyright law rules, such as the idea-expression dichotomy and fair use doctrine, already prevent copyright from running afoul of freedom of speech, decision makers, when designing copyright filtering systems, need not to consider a separate freedom-of-speech defense under copyright law. Copyright filtering systems are content-neutral and should be subject to intermediate or mid-level scrutiny. As long as a content filtering system is designed to filter only contents that embed a material part of copyrighted works with a reasonable filtering standard, and implements necessary manual measures to correct false filtering, it should be able to pass intermediate scrutiny under the law of free speech. The possibility for Internet service providers to over-filter is very slim. Although copyright filtering is a prior restraint on speech, it would not substantially increase the general public’s cost of speech. Therefore, requiring Internet service providers to implement copyright filtering systems would be a reasonable institutional choice under the law of free speech.