EU's Link Tax & Upload Filters Proposal Just Got Approved
Three months ago I had written an article warning about the dangers of a new EU law proposal that could have a detrimental effect on internet freedom. In that article, you'll find short descriptions on what new regulations are included with articles 11 & 13.
Short Description
Article 11 - Link Tax - Using snippets of journalistic content would require a license
Article 13 - Upload Filters - User-uploaded content must be screened automatically for copyright infringement
I am sad to inform you that yesterday, the EU parliament has passed both article 11 and article 13, with 438 in favor, 226 against & 39 abstentions. Both Conservatives and Social Democrats have largely voted in favor of these new laws, while Euroskeptics, Greens & Liberals voted against.
A couple of days before the vote, I had written about a dozen personal e-mails to EU politicians from my country. The only one who even bothered to respond was Anneleen Van Bossuyt (NV-A), she informed me that she shared my concerns and voted against.
Now, under normal circumstances I would probably never vote for her party (NV-A - Flemish-Nationalist conservatives), but I have to say that I'm seriously tempted to do so for the European parliament elections.
These laws are now waiting for final approval in January from the European Parliament, but there's not much stopping these laws from coming into effect. I'm sure that they will severely hinder the development of new content sharing platforms, due to the draconian measures they have to take, to prevent copyright abuse.
All European publishers who were in favor of Article 11 (link tax) might be in for a treat. They might have shot themselves in the foot with their support for this law, as there's now a disincentive to share their news articles on other platforms.
Whatever the long-term outcome may be, this doesn't look very positive for either consumers nor content creators. We all know that there's enough trouble already with the current implementation of the DMCA, often being used to silence competition over at Youtube for example. These new EU laws might be another turn for the worse.
Let's hope that this does get overturned, even though the chances are slim to none!
Check Out Julia Reda's Blog for More Info on EU Copyright Reform
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You could come and live here!, soon it wont matter or be applicable to us.
That wouldn't be too badPerhaps if it actually changes anything in my daily live. That Brexit thing might not be too bad after all, at least we'll have one (almost) neighboring country outside of the EU. Just so we can flee to it when it becomes too bad :D
Oh, when I was over there... I noticed that you had ISP level filtering on websites! That was weird!
I heard every ISP has it's own net-nanny bot. That's weird for a land of the free and home of the brave. I mean free AND brave, but the all are subjected to nanny-bots. What kind of government is that backwards that it opposes it's own constitution?
I think @slobberchops is from the UK and not US!
ooooo I see
Now i'm confused
the UK that's a surveillance state on steroids
That is sad news my friend. We have been dealing with similar but separate issues here in the US with Net Neutrality etc. Unfortunately as long as corporate lobbyist are allowed to do what they do, things are never going to get done the way the people want. We have an election coming up for governor in my state. I can say right now I am not too impressed with either candidate and I am hoping there will be a third party alternative by the time the election comes!
Yeah, the publishing industry has way too much power, especially when you see how much damage they can do with lobbying. I really hopes it bites them in the ass.
Instead of rewarding good behaviour the ruling parliment-bullies agressively punish 'unwanted'behaviour eventhoug it isn't even BAD behaviour. These politicians act like warmongers / slave drivers. In this day and age the average citizen seems to be more civilized then the average of the people in the 'ruling class'.
But then again, 3 months ago nobody seemed to care. Everyone is more entertained by the Trump / Clinton BS and these European laws are far form interesting compared to the American circus monkees
Julia Reda did a LOT of work to get things done right, but they seem to have undermined all her efforts. It's scary how very good proposals that Reda wrote got swept off the table and are now replaced with this backwards BS.
You're completely right about that, she's been covering this from the beginning and much more than that. I've been voting for the Pirate Party for about 2 years now, but they seem to be losing more and more seats now.
Our media is playing tricks on us
Well at least the video thieves that copied my stuff from YT and uploaded it to FB now have something else to worry about :)
Yeah, but that could also backfire for you, in the end it may be your own videos that get deleted from Youtube due to some vague non-compliance with some copyright law or due to an error.
Given how difficult it is to actually get in contact with Youtube, your account could remain flagged for weeks or months, without having any chance to appeal.
Possibly, but the videos are all mine and I have written permission from the authors/performers of the music in the videos so YT doesn't have any legal grounds to come after me. I also have permission from the venue owners. I did everything by the book and my YT channel is not monetized so only YT could lose in such action. I have about 23TB of original 4K music video and sound recordings I could upload to DTube if YT doesn't want it or if they flag my account. I don't really care as everybody is getting paid except me; I can't lose. I only care about someone else stealing my work and views and comments and likes, flags, etc. :-)
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well post.....
That is unfortunate news since the old guard did most of the work supporting and voting for this measure. I think that this experiment and the DMCA will eventually demonstrate that the internet is a public good. Taxing a public good only means that you will get less of that public good.
The "other guys", those who were against these acts, well, I think the younger folks support them. The kids who grew up with Napster, and The Pirate Bay, they all know that the nominal cost of digital goods moving closer and closer to zero, and those kids are adults now, finding their own power.
In America, Millennials are 83 million strong and the largest demographic. They will slowly filter up through the ranks as the old guard dies off. That's when we'll see real change. I think then, it's only a matter of time that copyright reform, a relaxation of the laws, is inevitable because copyright enforcement is going to become unenforceable.
One of my favorite books on this subject is "Against Intellectual Monopoly" (http://www.dklevine.com/general/intellectual/against.htm), and you can find a free PDF here. They provide significant empirical research to show that artists can actually make more money without copyrights. I believe that book portends a future where all digital goods are free as in freedom.
Thanks for spreading that news. I had no idea that they were even contemplating something is onerous as a link tax. Sigh. I guess they will have to live and learn now, won't they?
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