EU Takes First Step in Passing Controversial Copyright Law That Could 'Censor the Internet' (theverge.com)

The European Union has taken the first step in passing new copyright legislation that critics say will tear the internet apart. From a report: This morning, the EU's Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) voted in favor of the legislation, called the Copyright Directive. Although most of the directive simply updates technical language for copyright law in the age of the internet, it includes two highly controversial provisions. These are Article 11, a "link tax," which would force online platforms like Facebook and Google to buy licenses from media companies before linking to their stories; and Article 13, an "upload filter," which would require that everything uploaded online in the EU is checked for copyright infringement. (Think of it like YouTube's Content ID system but for the whole internet.) EU lawmakers critical of the legislation say these Articles may have been proposed with good intentions -- like protecting copyright owners -- but are vaguely worded and ripe for abuse.

Comments

Re:Popcorn ready... and stale

[drinkypoo]

We keep being told how much better the EU is than the US - but then they do something awful like this, which is much, much worse than anything that would be seriously proposed in the US.

Trump administration: "Hold my beer and bucket of chicken"

Just be patient, it will get worse here.

There's copyright infringement enforcement, and then there's "fascism disguised as protecting copyright."

People around here generally supported the right to have your misdeeds forgotten, now let's see how they like phase 2.