Proposed changes to controversial EU digital copyright laws finalised
The components to controversial digital copyright changes have been finalised by EU decision makers in Brussels, potentially transforming what people are allowed to share online.
The European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the Commission came to a final agreement on the text for the EU Copyright Directive, designed to protect the work of content makers in the digital age and ensure they are fairly remunerated.
Agreement reached on #copyright! Europeans will finally have modern copyright rules fit for digital age with real benefits for everyone: guaranteed rights for users, fair remuneration for creators, clarity of rules for platforms. pic.twitter.com/dwQGsAlJvK
— Andrus Ansip (@Ansip_EU) February 13, 2019
Two parts of the law, Article 11 and Article 13, have been most contentious since the start of talks to change copyright rules, which critics fear could negatively affect the way music, memes and news articles are shared online.
Among the changes would be new licencing rules making online platforms responsible for content uploaded. According to lead critic, German MEP Julia Reda, this would mean commercial sites and apps will have to pre-emptively buy licences for anything a user uploads, a move she describes as “an impossible feat”.
Although the directive says it will not impose filters, Ms Reda says that sites will have no choice but to implement them to prevent anything that goes against the new law from making it online.
“The history of this law is a shameful one,” she said on her blog.
“From the very beginning, the purpose of Articles 11 and 13 was never to solve clearly-defined issues in copyright law with well-assessed measures, but to serve powerful special interests, with hardly any concern for the collateral damage caused.”
Breaking: The text of #Article13 and the EU Copyright Directive has just been finalised. Upload filters are in. Here’s how we got here and what you can still do to #SaveYourInternet: https://t.co/lXJ3Jxux5i pic.twitter.com/bNmVwLJXUp
— Julia Reda (@Senficon) February 13, 2019
Vice president for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip welcomed the move, saying: “To finally have modern copyright rules for the whole of EU is a major achievement that was long overdue.
“The negotiations were difficult, but what counts in the end is that we have a fair and balanced result that is fit for a digital Europe: the freedoms and rights enjoyed by internet users today will be enhanced, our creators will be better remunerated for their work, and the internet economy will have clearer rules for operating and thriving.”
The next hurdle in a process that has run for multiple years, is for the agreement to be confirmed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in the coming weeks.
