Europe’s newly proposed copyright law was put on hold following a vote from the European Parliament who disapproved of its passing. As a result, the considerably controversial copyright legislation will be sent back to be revised.
Known as the European Copyright Directive, the legislation has been slated following a line of criticism surrounding its restriction on human rights whilst online. Although the bill’s supporters suggest that the law would protect artists’ rights online and ensure music and other creative sources weren’t copied, the proposal was submitted by the former Digital Commissioner Günther Oettinger and has been accused of considerably limiting EU citizen’s rights and restricting an internet user’s ability to contribute to online debates. Considered somewhat as a censorship method, the plan initially would have restricted abilities to share snippets of former articles and social media links would have been connected to copyright, alongside a number of other seemingly normal online activities which have left a number of people questioning why such a thing would be needed.
The proposals have already been further challenged fearing a rise in online surveillance and a reduction of user freedoms and information sharing.
Although the law had been approved by the European Parliament Legal Affairs Committee, following the vote last week which totalled 318 against 278 votes, the legislation’s fast-track has been rejected and cannot move forward.
According to a recent report from Fortune, the reason that the legal proposal was denied as a result of Article 11 and Article 13. These two sections would mean that large media outlets such as Google would have to contribute a license fee if they were to quote text and also mean online platforms are responsible for monitoring a user’s copyright infringements and act upon them.
In retaliation to the bill, it has been reported by The Verge that a petition is known as ‘Save Your Internet’ was launched by MEP’s and has received over 700,000 signatures since its launch.
Based on the reports coming from the recent announcement, it seems like the ultimate competitors set to be affected by the bill are the music industry and the tech industry. Despite going back to the drawing board, the proposal will, however, be back in front of the European Union in September
