This really could be the workweek thatdefines the Internet . Because the EU is about to vote on an incredibly controversial bill – and if it legislate , the web as we be intimate it might change considerably .
On Thursday , July 5 , the European Parliament will be voting on theCopyright Directive , which was put forward for a full vote in June after it was approve by the EU ’s Legal Affairs Committee ( JURI ) .
The legislation seeks to change how copyright works on the cyberspace . There are a mickle of part to it , but themost litigious bitsare Article 11 and Article 13 .
Although the wording of both is obscure , the former appears to support strict checks on links within article . This imply that if a website hyperlinked to another one in an article , like this(hello ! ) , it would require websites to pay up for a licence to do so .
That might be fine for orotund medium companies , but for small ones , such a fee may be beyond their way . Making it pricy to infix link could mean useful information is less widely apportion – leading to the spread of , yes we ’re pass away to say it , fake news .
If you think you ’re good in the US , you ’re wrong . As we ’ve seenwith GDPR , companies in the US will still have toadhere to these rulesas their sites go in the EU .
The late predicament has been play up today by Wikipedia , with the Italian versionlocking readers outto protest the upcoming vote . The English translation , meanwhile , carry a banner that urge proofreader to take action .
intelligibly , people are not happy about all this . A radical of expert include founding father of the World Wide web Tim Berners - Leesigned a letterthat sound out Article 13 specifically would transubstantiate the cyberspace into “ a tool for the automated surveillance and ascendance of its users . ”
And what military action can be taken ? If you live on in the EU , then you cancontact a Member of the European Parliament(MEP ) , and secernate them why this legislation is a terrible idea . There ’s ahandy websitehere that ’ll help you do that .
If you care about the future of the free and open Internet , then now is the time to do something . With the US recently repealing Net Neutrality laws , it ’s down to the EU to prove that the whole man has n’t gone insane . Here ’s hoping .
