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from the quick,-send-your-submissions-before-this-becomes-law! dept.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has a detailed explanation of the proposed changes to EU copyright law, specifically the current version of the European Digital Single Market directive, and why it is a big deal.
EFF has been writing about the upcoming European Digital Single Market directive on copyright for a long time now. But it's time to put away the keyboard, and pick up the phone, because the proposal just got worse—and it's headed for a crucial vote on June 20-21.
For those who need no further introduction to the directive, which would impose an upload filtering mandate on Internet platforms (Article 13) and a link tax in favor of news publishers (Article 11), you can skip to the bottom of this post, where we link to an action that European readers can take to make their voice heard. But if you're new to this, here's a short version of how we got here and why we're worried.
From the EFF's web site: European Copyright Law Isn't Great. It Could Soon Get a Lot Worse.
Earlier on SN:
Censorship Machines Are Coming: It's Time for the Free Software Community to Use its Political Clout
Compromises on Copyright Maximalism are Clearly No Longer on the EU Agenda
Mulled EU Copyright Shakeup Will Turn Us Into Robo-Censors
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @02:25AM (3 children)
Copyright only serves the bourgeois as a tool to control the working classes. We need to move in the direction of total abolition.
I'm going to tell my representative right now.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @02:27AM
+1 unintentionally funny.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @05:54AM
Chris "the D" Reimer. 350lb of football player muscle, claiming copyright of gay pictures all over the EU and Russia.
https://www.kickingthebitbucket.com/ [kickingthebitbucket.com]
(Score: 2) by Bot on Thursday April 12 2018, @10:09PM
"Copyright only serves the bourgeois as a tool to control the working classes. We need to move in the direction of total abolition."
--
bot, april 12 @ somewhat later than 02:25AM
Account abandoned.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @02:30AM (1 child)
This is the reason that Europe is so willing to go with privacy laws. Once they have a lock on copyright, and use that to control all the software and firmware, they can take whatever they want, whenever they want.
(Score: 2, Redundant) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday April 12 2018, @03:03AM
So true. Europe is absolutely killing us on software. Their surplus vs U.S. is massive -- and we pay for their protection. The United States has an $800 Billion Dollar Yearly Trade Deficit because of our “very stupid” trade deals and policies. Our jobs and wealth are being given to other countries that have taken advantage of us for years. NO MORE!!!!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @02:31AM (1 child)
I know I'll get replies telling me copyright doesn't cover facts, but when you're on a powertrip, you're on a powertrip.
You already have the mechanism to pull down undesirable information, why not extend it to cover more?
The object of power is power, no?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @08:08AM
How can a copyright on facts be next? We already have copyright on facts (specifically a collection of facts - with no explicit lower limit to the number of facts in the collection).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @01:57PM (1 child)
There is no point in calling your "representative". You don't fund his campaign, so he couldn't care less what you think. Instead, call Google, and tell them that you fully support them completely delisting all european newspapers from google news. Also tell them that you would be ok with them not accepting any user-generated content from the EU, such as youtube videos and comments, blog posts, company reviews, etc. If europe wants to play hardball, make them feel the consequences and see how they like it.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday April 12 2018, @02:49PM
Do you really think that Google wants to lose the European market just to support your views? Dreamer!