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The Man Behind the EU's Copyright Law is 'Surprised' By What's in the Proposal (qz.com)

Hours after the European Union Parliament voted to approve new controversial copyright laws that will transform how people in Europe and beyond use and profit from the internet, the man behind the legislation, Axel Voss, says he is unaware of what exactly he voted for. From a report: Emanuel Karlsten, a reporter for Sweden's Breakit news site, spoke with Voss, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and the EU's copyright rapporteur, after the vote. Karlsten asked about a last-minute amendment that will bar the filming of sports events. The MEP replied in a recorded conversation, "This was kind of mistake I think by the JURI committee. Someone amended this. No one had been aware of this." European Parliament press officer John Schranz at that point broke in to explain that he was aware of the provision in question, calling it "amendment 76." Schranz said that the amendment doesn't bar individuals from filming sporting events. Rather, "the main target" is online betting companies enticing viewers to their sites with video that they have no right to film. He objected to the fact that the "Greens and others" interpret the provision as having a much wider application.

But the MEP Voss admitted, "I didn't know that this was in the proposal so far, so of course I have to deal with it now. I do not consider that the commission and council will have this inside the proposal." Voss added that "because of the time pressure" and general focus on other, more notable aspects of the law, it's possible that the measure was insufficiently scrutinized.

4 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Insufficiently scrutinized? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Informative

    They didn't pass a law, they passed an amendment to proposal.

    This is a very long way from the end of the process.

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  2. Re:Sloppy job is OK by Darinbob · · Score: 3, Informative

    Legislators rarely write legislation anymore, instead they get pre-approved proposal legislation directly from lobbyists.
    It's amazingly unlikely that the MEPs felt that there was a problem on the internet that needed these particular "fixes" on their own. Occam's Razor says it's more likely that the big content and IP owners wanted a change and started handing out money.

  3. This is why the EU is useless & dangerous by Chas · · Score: 3, Informative

    Basically the people running things are professional busybodies and buttinskies.

    They basically rubberstamp everything that comes through.
    None of them actually read what they're pushing. They have aides do that and tell them yes/no. And all the aides are essentially "bought".

    And the people actually making the decisions are unelected by the people and completely unaccoutable to ANYONE.

    So these people are primarily there because they LIKE dicking around in other people's lives...oh and the big paycheck...

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  4. Re:A different view by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · · Score: 3, Informative

    Even the UK government has attempted to modernise copyright law to an extent, to make it somewhat more realistic and proportionate in light of modern technology. For example, in 2014 a private copying exception was introduced that legalised actions like format-shifting where someone had a legally obtained, permanent copy of a work and the copy was only made for their own private use.

    The EU, in contrast, has been very consistently pro-big-copyright for a long time. When that UK private copying exception was struck down by a High Court judge in 2015, it was largely on the basis of failure to comply with EU law requiring fair compensation to rightsholders should a member state introduce such an exception without also demonstrating that any harm was minimal.

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