Guide: Information: What is Article 13 in the EU (Europe)?
As long as the Internet has existed in a form similar to what we have today, concerns have been raised by the people and organizations that are the rightholders of certain types of content. In particular, copyright infringement has always been a point of contention. And it is easy to see why. On the one hand, the notion of sharing and innovation is the basis heart of the internet as a platform. On the other hand, the people who have the legal rights to copyrighted content deserve fair remuneration for their work. The truth is, these two concepts don’t always go hand in hand, and this has sparked a lot of debate over the years. It does not help with matters that certain legislation simply has not been able to keep up with the digital age. Policy makers recognize this and have made constant efforts to update various laws and regulations to better reflect the society in which we now find ourselves. The latest attempt to achieve this is the highly controversial Article 13 (part of a larger directive), passed by the European Parliament in September.
What is it exactly?
Together with Article 11 (popularly known as the “link tax”), Article 13 represents the most divisive part of the new Copyright Directive proposed by the European Union. In essence, it should provide the framework that Member States can follow when creating their own copyright laws. On September 12, Members of the European Parliament voted in favor of the directive, with 438 votes in favor and 226 against. The accepted document is an amended version of the proposal that failed to garner enough votes in July. Specifically with regard to Section 12, it states that content sharing platforms (such as YouTube or Facebook) will now have a greater responsibility to ensure that their users do not share copyrighted material without appropriate permission.
Who supports Article 13 and why?
Even this basic interpretation of Article 13 should be more than enough to make it clear that copyright holders are the main proponents of this legislation. Many in the music industry, for example, have openly spoken out for it. This includes representatives of music companies as well as artists themselves. A notable example of this is Sir Paul McCartney, who published an open letter to Members of the European Parliament asking them to support Article 13, as he believed it was key to the sustainable future of music in Europe. At its core, Article 13 aims to reduce the income gap between rightholders and the online platforms that allow for the sharing of such content. And it really cannot be argued that certain tech giants are making very large sums of money from copyrighted content on their platforms. By distributing these funds in some other way, forcing these companies to ensure that there is no copyright infringement, it can be argued that the artists and rightholders would receive the money they are rightfully due.
Who is against Article 13 and why?
No one would argue that artists should be paid for their work, but the opponents of Article 13 argue that the directive is tantamount to censorship. Many of the technology world’s leading figures have gathered to protest against this legislation because they believe it violates certain fundamental freedoms. Failure to observe the exceptions and limitations of copyright may put user-generated content at risk. Online platforms would need a way to filter copyrighted content, which could have the side effect of removing remixed, parodied, or modified content as well – elements that are integral to the way the Internet as we know it functions. This is why this article has been colloquially nicknamed: the ‘meme ban’. In addition, there is also concern that these filtering requirements would put smaller European platforms at a disadvantage. Although the directive exempts small digital businesses, they should still implement it after they have exceeded a certain size. The fear is that this would create a negative atmosphere and drive away potential entrepreneurs or investors.
What happens now?
Nothing for now. Before the directive becomes official, there is another round of voting in the European Parliament. Assuming it succeeds, each member of the EU will have to draft its own laws that are consistent with them. An EU directive is not a law – it is simply a directive that Member States must follow. This means that there is room for interpretation, and there is still much that we do not yet know about what it would look like in practice. Still, Article 13 could end up are a turning point in the way users interact with content online. There are still too many variables to be sure, but it’s a situation worth monitoring.
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