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BELGIAN INTERNET service provider Scarlet can’t be forced by a national court to block users from illegally sharing music and video files, an adviser to the European Union’s highest tribunal said.

“EU law precludes a national court from making an order, on the basis of the Belgian statutory provision” that requires an internet service provider to install a system for filtering communications, advocate general Pedro Cruz Villalón of the EU Court of Justice said in a non-binding opinion handed down yesterday. The Luxembourg-based EU tribunal follows such advice in most cases.