Europe's Controversial 'Link Tax' in Doubt After Member States Rebel (theverge.com)

Copyright activists just scored a major victory in the ongoing fight over the European Union's new copyright rules. An upcoming summit to advance the EU's copyright directive has been canceled, as member states objected to the incoming rules as too restrictive to online creators. From a report: The EU's forthcoming copyright rules had drawn attention from activists for two measures, designated as Article 11 and Article 13, that would give publishers rights over snippets of news content shared online (the so-called "link tax") and increase platform liability for user content. [...] After today, the directive's future is much less certain. Member states were gathered to approve a new version of the directive drafted by Romania -- but eleven countries reportedly opposed the text, many of them citing familiar concerns over the two controversial articles. Crucially, Italy's new populist government takes a far more skeptical view of the strict copyright proposals. Member states have until the end of February to approve a new version of the text, although it's unclear what compromise might be reached. Further reading: EU Cancels 'Final' Negotiations On EU Copyright Directive As It Becomes Clear There Isn't Enough Support.

Comments

This just in

[nwaack]

Super-douchy, insanely stupid law is pissing people off. News at 11.

Re: This just in

[Anonymous Coward]

Not to worry. Most likely in about 10 years the EU will exist only in the history books.

Re: This just in

[Anonymous Coward]

I am not sure what sort of copyright problems they have, however, in general this sort of tax might be viewed as regressive and to be avoided, but governments may impose them from time to time, in addition to other revenue or fund raising activities such as issuing bonds or tariffs. After all, governments do tax when necessary and many countries will recognize this simple fact.

Re:This just in

[Anonymous Coward]

All those in support of the link tax should be barred from any further influence to anything even tangentially related to free and open expression.

Re:This just in

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm organising an internet campaign to ban the internet. It is destroying our way of life!

1980s forever!

Re:This just in

[serviscope_minor]

Super-douchy, insanely stupid law is pissing people off. News at 11.

Or more like insanely stupid proposed law not passed because it pissed people off.

i am waiting

[FudRucker]

waiting for the European Union to collapse under the weight of its own bureaucratic stupidity

Re:i am waiting

[sexconker]

You won't have to wait much longer. (Oh, who am I kidding? The UK will cuck itself and find a way to stay in the EU.)

Re:i am waiting

[thegarbz]

When has a government collapsed under the weight of bureaucracy? Normally it's the governments that eliminate bureaucracy altogether that quickly collapse.

Re:i am waiting

[Rockoon]

The Roman Empire.

Now stop pretending that you know stuff.

Re:i am waiting

[thegarbz]

Errr no. The Roman Empire fell due to idiots running the place, poor military decisions, and ultimately was overthrown rather than collapsing in on itself. The Roman empire was a lot of things but it was far from bureaucratic by any modern standards.

Now let me quote something I read on the internet to you:

Now stop pretending that you know stuff.

Re:i am waiting

[serviscope_minor]

waiting for the European Union to collapse under the weight of its own bureaucratic stupidity

Wow the stupid is strong in this one.

This happens in literally every functioning democracy in the world.

1. Someone/party/group proposes incredibly asshatty law.
2. People in a position to vote on it say no.
3. Incredibly asshatty proposal fails and the law is not created.

But for some reason the thing you took away from that was (and I paraphrase) "dur teh EU *drool*". Seriously this happens in all levels of government in all democracies the world over.

You should examine your feelings to see why you have an irrational hatred of the EU and are waiting for it to fail.

Re:i am waiting

[haruchai]

The UK will cuck itself and find a way to stay in the EU.

A bunch of UK cucks who've quietly faded into the background helped their nation cuck itself by Brexiting.

To think

[Bruce Perens]

To think that there could be political and public welfare complications from a company owning the news.

Yes. In the history books written by members of

[presidenteloco]

the new "Global Democratic Union".

Re:Yes. In the history books written by members of

[WolfgangVL]

Not if the brotherhood of Nod has anything to say on the matter.

Re:Yes. In the history books written by members of

[caladine]

Obligatory: Kane lives in death!

So "cuck itself" now means

[presidenteloco]

"do something rational for a change"?

Re: So "cuck itself" now means

[Anonymous Coward]

Well now, rational. How quaint. Define rational

So, party G taxes party A for "stealing" from B

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure that helps B no end, cutting views too. How stupid do they think we are? Don't answer that, it's obvious and rhetorical.
Government finding ever new ways to steal from all while saying it's for our best interest. Riiiiiiight.

Re:So, party G taxes party A for "stealing" from B

[Areyoukiddingme]

I'm sure that helps B no end, cutting views too. How stupid do they think we are? Don't answer that, it's obvious and rhetorical.
Government finding ever new ways to steal from all while saying it's for our best interest. Riiiiiiight.

The link tax was not a literal tax. It was directly from aggregator A to news publisher B, by government mandate, but the government does not collect or remit any money in the process. It would have just enforced the payments.

Thankfully the stupid ideas, which the directive was jammed full of, will all be going away for a while. Until the next time when the prop-up-my-obsolete-business-model brigade returns to try again. I might have some shred of sympathy if they weren't also bedfellows with the greedy-fuck-gimme-more-money-for-nothing brigade.

Who writes these laws?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't remember being part of the writing team or consulted in advance.

Re:Who writes these laws?

[AHuxley]

Follow the money. What are the EU nations doing with all the extra tax money?
Who are the nations in the EU having to spend so much new tax money on?

Re:Who writes these laws?

[F.Ultra]

Except of course that "tax" was just how it was reported. In reality it was a fee that the copyright holders would collect so no money would go to the EU or any of it's member countries.

Re:Who writes these laws?

[Anonymous Coward]

Your usual idiocy shines through.

This "law" was not written by the "EU", which btw isn't some homogeneous entity, with the ability to write laws willy nilly. This package is very much written by the copyright lobby, who first tried to get into Google's coffers via the national governments in Spain and Germany, only to to have the whole thing fail in pretty spectacular fashion.

This is the next step, and what lobbyists usually do; when they fail on the national level, they pass it on to the next level and find some corrupted people within the EU to enforce their agenda.

Also, note that the money involved isn't a "tax" as such, but rather a levy, where the money does not go to the EU but the people the copyright lobby represents. Schoolbook example of "socialize the costs, privatize the profit", the kind of American Socialism all righthinking, freedomloving Americans seem to viciously adore. A government by the corporations, for the corporations, one nation under a puppet.

Try to grow a brain and get some kind of clue before you open the festering shithole you have in your face the next time, please.

Re:Who writes these laws?

[serviscope_minor]

What are the EU nations doing with all the extra tax money?

what extra tax money. Oh wait there isn't any because the law didn't get passed.

Please, don't let reality hit you in the ass on the way out.

Re:Who writes these laws?

[F.Ultra]

There are no enforcement costs. This is just like the tape tax that also is nothing like a tax in where the collection of the fees will be handled by a non governmental company that is created and funded by the copyright industry. This whole stupidity comes 100% from the politicians believing the copyright lobby groups when they cry that the bad evil internet is eating all their profits and have zero to do with EU wanting money.

...drafted by Romania

[Opportunist]

Translation: Romania was simply the cheapest country to bribe.