LONDON: The European Parliament votes Tuesday on controversial copyright reforms championed by news publishers and the music business but criticised by big tech and internet freedom activists.
The run-up to the vote has seen waves of lobbying and protests by both supporters and opponents of the law, which is designed to update European copyright legislation that is now nearly two decades old.
The reform, two years in the making, is loudly backed by media companies and artists, who want to obtain a better return from web platforms — such as YouTube or Facebook — that use their content.
But it is strongly opposed by some of those same internet giants such as YouTube-owner Google, which make huge profits from the advertising generated on content they host, and also by supporters of a free internet who fear it will result in unprecedented restrictions to web freedom.
“The result of the vote is highly uncertain, but we remain confident,” said a parliamentary source and backer of the reform.
The final days before the vote were marked by marches and media stunts, including tens of thousands of people protesting in Germany on Saturday under the slogan “Save the Internet”.
There were similar protests in Austria, Poland and Portugal, while major Polish newspapers on Monday printed blank front pages in an appeal that MEPs adopt the reform.
Germany is at the heart of the anti-reform movement, led by Julia Reda, a 32-year-old Pirate Party MEP who has spearheaded a campaign against two of the law’s provisions that have become flashpoints in the debate.
First is Article 13, which aims to strengthen the bargaining power of rights holders with platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Soundcloud, which use their content.
Under the reform, European law for the first time would hold platforms legally responsible for enforcing copyright, requiring them to check everything that their users post to prevent infringement.
