Moderation lessons from 'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Overwatch': ensuring freedom of expression in online copyright enforcement through community involvement

Guzel, S.G ORCID: 0000-0002-9216-8112 (2026) 'Moderation lessons from 'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Overwatch': ensuring freedom of expression in online copyright enforcement through community involvement.' Interactive Entertainment Law Review, 9 (1). pp. 3-19.

Text 17806.pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 1 December 2026.

Abstract

This paper proposes video game-inspired procedural safeguards to ensure that the filtering mechanisms obliged by Article 17 of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive (CDSMD) respect the fundamental right of freedom of expression. The paper recommends the integration of users into the assessment of online legality to strike a fair balance between the competing rights and the interests of users, Online Content Sharing Service Providers (OCSSPs) and rightsholders. It proposes a Community Review Model inspired by CS:GO’s Overwatch anti-cheat mechanism, which introduces a participatory review layer to assess flagged content before removal. This model ensures contextual accuracy and procedural fairness, counterbalances the limitations of pre-flagging and embeds human oversight into enforcement, thereby strengthening compliance with Article 17 and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Therefore, this proposed system can serve as a valuable example for user-generated content (UGC) platforms to operationalise effective practices around content moderation; it can also be useful for Member States (MS) to support the effective implementation and enforcement of Article 17 of CDSMD.

Item Type:	Article
UN SDGs:	Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Keywords:	Article 17, CDSM Directive, platform governance, freedom of expression, upload filters, automated copyright enforcement, overblocking, community-based moderation, video game governance
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Divisions:	Bath Business School
Date Deposited:	19 Jun 2026 10:56
Last Modified:	19 Jun 2026 10:56
ISSN:	2515-3870
URN:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/17806

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