Article 4

1. Where an information society service is provided that consists of the transmission in a communication network of information provided by a recipient of the service, or the provision of access to a communication network, the service provider shall not be liable for the information transmitted or accessed, on condition that the provider: does not initiate the transmission; does not select the receiver of the transmission; and does not select or modify the information contained in the transmission. 2. The acts of transmission and of provision of access referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the automatic, intermediate and transient storage of the information transmitted in so far as this takes place for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission in the communication network, and provided that the information is not stored for any period longer than is reasonably necessary for the transmission. 3. This Article shall not affect the possibility for a judicial or administrative authority, in accordance with a Member State’s legal system, to require the service provider to terminate or prevent an infringement.

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Source: EUR-Lex CELLAR · retrieved 2026-08-26 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.