Copyright Directive | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Mon, 15 Apr 2019 13:46:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Copyright Directive | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 The EU’s controversial Copyright Directive has passed its final approval https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/damien-cox/the-eus-controversial-copyright-directive-has-passed-its-final-approval/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/damien-cox/the-eus-controversial-copyright-directive-has-passed-its-final-approval/#respond Mon, 15 Apr 2019 13:46:53 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=410258 Last month, Members of the European Parliament voted to pass the Copyright Directive, a document containing controversial legislation that enforces regulations across the internet. The new rules have now passed final approval, as member states support the debatably out-dated measures. Engadget reports that a majority of 19 European Council representatives voted in favour of the …

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Last month, Members of the European Parliament voted to pass the Copyright Directive, a document containing controversial legislation that enforces regulations across the internet. The new rules have now passed final approval, as member states support the debatably out-dated measures.

Engadget reports that a majority of 19 European Council representatives voted in favour of the new Directive, including both France and Germany, while Belgium, Estonia and Slovenia abstained. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Poland voted against the measures. Unsurprisingly, Sweden also voiced its opposition after its MEPs declared that they had accidentally voted in favour of the reform during the initial vote, criticising the phrasing of the questions and their contradictory nature.

The new rules take aim at larger companies like YouTube and Facebook, which will now be required to obtain licenses before hosting copyrighted works. Policing this will also prove excruciating for both the platform and its user, as Article 17, previously known as Article 13, will force content to be approved through filters before uploading.

Journalists and news websites will also take a hit as Article 15, previously known as Article 11, will tax aggregators like Google News in order to pay the creators that it links to. A measure similar to this has previously been tested in Spain, causing Google to simply remove its News tab in the country. Ultimately, this hurt traffic and caused publication revenue to suffer. Unfortunately, smaller publications will feel this more than their larger counterparts, as there will be a limit on the amount of information that can be displayed from another source before that same tax kicks in.

EU countries have precisely 24 months to craft a new framework and ensure that companies operating within Europe comply.

KitGuru Says: The primary fear is that freedom of expression will be hindered; reducing internet culture that often displays itself in the form of GIFs and memes. On the business side of things, larger companies worry that the difficulty of monitoring content on such a large scale could prove difficult and result in many lawsuits to come. Do you think that the Copyright Directive could render the online space in Europe a ghost town?

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Swedish MEPs claim to have voted in favour of EU Copyright Directive by mistake https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/swedish-meps-claim-to-have-voted-in-favour-of-eu-copyright-directive-by-mistake/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/swedish-meps-claim-to-have-voted-in-favour-of-eu-copyright-directive-by-mistake/#respond Wed, 27 Mar 2019 14:09:46 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=408242 Yesterday, European Union member states voted to pass the new Copyright Directive by just five votes, seeing the implementation of controversial Articles 11 and 13, now known as Articles 15 and 17 respectively. Some members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are now claiming to have voted for the proposition by mistake as they simply wanted …

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Yesterday, European Union member states voted to pass the new Copyright Directive by just five votes, seeing the implementation of controversial Articles 11 and 13, now known as Articles 15 and 17 respectively. Some members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are now claiming to have voted for the proposition by mistake as they simply wanted to “open a debate.”

While most MEPs voted in favour of implementing some form of the Copyright Directive at 443 votes to 181, only 317 voted to keep the document exactly as it is while 312 wanted further amendments. This means that every vote counts more than ever in a result about as divisive as the UK’s choice to leave the European Union.

Sadly, MEPs from Sweden are now claiming that they pressed the wrong button and didn’t mean to support the passing of the bill as it stood. Before jumping to conclusions, it’s worth understanding just how confusing the terminology can be at times.

The initial vote was to reject the Copyright Directive as a whole, a motion that was ultimately rejected by the majority of downvotes. Due to this, the Swedish MEPs believed that the second vote was similarly to reject further amendments, which they voted in favour of. Unfortunately, the second vote actually pertained to the passing of the bill as a whole.

There are many instances where the European Union accepts notices to retroactively change a vote, but this does not seem to be one of those cases. Despite the MEPs filing to redact their submission, their votes will continue to stand, helping to implement some of the harshest copyright laws in the western world.

KitGuru Says: Politics and law have always had confusing terminologies, making it detrimental that politicians pay attention to what it is they are voting for. At the same time, the European Parliament could do with keeping some consistency when putting things up for debate.  

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European Parliament passes controversial Article 13 and Article 11 https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/european-parliament-passes-controversial-article-13-and-article-11/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/european-parliament-passes-controversial-article-13-and-article-11/#respond Tue, 26 Mar 2019 14:05:22 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=408166 The European Parliament has repeatedly tried to implement Article 11 and Article 13 as a part of its Copyright Directive overhaul, with the former being a “link tax” and the latter is set to introduce an intrusive upload filter. After a number of delays and changes to the text, member states have voted in favour …

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The European Parliament has repeatedly tried to implement Article 11 and Article 13 as a part of its Copyright Directive overhaul, with the former being a “link tax” and the latter is set to introduce an intrusive upload filter. After a number of delays and changes to the text, member states have voted in favour of the two, renaming them Article 15 and Article 17 respectively.

The plans were initially introduced in 2016 but gained attention last year for their radical approaches to copyright on the internet. Although the Directive has been highly contested, lambasted by the general public, yet declared a necessity by copyright holders.

Today’s vote showcased that the want for a new Copyright Directive is certainly there, as the proposal to dismiss the entire document was rejected with 443 votes against and 181 in favour. The vote to allow for further amendments was much closer, with just 312 in favour compared to 317 against.

With 348 Members of Parliament in favour of the document as it currently stands and just 274 against, the European Parliament has adopted the new Copyright Directive, containing the newly named Article 15 and Article 17.

Under Article 17, previously known as Article 13, sites that host user-generated content that have been available for more than three years, earn over €10 million and have more than five million unique monthly visitors will be required to either actively license content from the original copyright holders or purge all copyrighted material from their servers. This will likely require the likes of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to utilise an upload filter in order to police the matter, automatically rejecting content before it is uploaded.

It is this article in particular Article that people fear will be the death of memes, but the European Parliament has stated that the internet phenomenon should be “specifically excluded” from the new Directive. It remains to be seen how this is possible if member states implement a nationwide filter, however. Similarly, cloud storage services are exempt, as well as loopholes that allow for parody.

Article 15, previously known as Article 11, is the colloquially dubbed “link tax” that targets aggregator sites, such as the Google News tab, and forces them to pay original content creators to host their link. This is a move that has already failed when trialled in Spain, as Google simply removed its News tab in the country, ultimately resulting in diminished traffic and therefore ad revenue for the individual publications.

It’s uncertain how this will work as it stands, however publications using hyperlinks with individual words won’t be affected and neither will “legitimate private and non-commercial use of press publications by individual users.”

Pirate Party MEP Julia Reda has vocally opposed the decision throughout the debate, chastising the outcome as a “dark day for internet freedom” in the EU. Chief executive of Open Knowledge International, Catherine Stihler agreed, stating that we now “risk the creation of a more closed society at the very time we should be using digital advances to build a more open world where knowledge creates power for the many, not the few.”

Copyright holders are pleased with the outcome, with chief executive of PRS for Music Robert Ashcroft describing the move as “a massive step forward. It’s about making sure that ordinary people can upload videos and music to platforms like YouTube without being held liable for copyright – that responsibility will henceforth be transferred to the platforms.”

Accompanying the ordinary legal mumbo jumbo is a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty, which is the main point of contention even after the European Union Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market has been approved. Once member states begin pushing the reform, perhaps they won’t be so bad. Or perhaps it’ll be much worse.

KitGuru Says: Do you have any thoughts on the new Copyright Directive?

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Google News could disappear in Europe if the EU implements link tax https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-announcement/damien-cox/google-news-could-disappear-in-europe-if-the-eu-implements-link-tax/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-announcement/damien-cox/google-news-could-disappear-in-europe-if-the-eu-implements-link-tax/#respond Mon, 19 Nov 2018 13:00:32 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=395466 Google maintains that it might retract its News feature from Europe, should the EU push Article 11's "link tax."

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Google has already spoken out against the EU’s controversial Copyright Directive, outlining the difficulties that an “upload filter” imposes on video content across YouTube. The written word is similarly unsafe, according to the Search giant, as vice-president of news Richard Gingras maintains that Google could pull its News service if plans go ahead with Article 11’s “link tax”.

Back in July, MEPs sent Article 11 and Article 13 of the Copyright Directive back to the drawing board, as many criticised the proposal of “machine censorship.” The Directive once again reappeared in September, with Article 13 continuing to carry the automated upload filter that prevents copyrighted material from being remixed. Alongside this, Google is chiefly concerned with Article 11 and its proposed link tax.

Gingras stated to The Guardian that while Google “can’t make a decision until we see the final language” of the Article, the team hasn’t ruled out the possibility of shutting down Google News services throughout Europe if the link tax comes into play. “It’s not desirable to shut down services,” however the company sees no value in losing revenue on a feature that brings the company no profit. “There’s no advertising in Google News. It is not a revenue-generating product to Google.”

The scheme has failed once before, with Spain opting for a similar approach in 2014. By taxing aggregation sites, the country hoped to compensate smaller publishers that were being showcased on platforms like Google News. The firm swiftly yanked its service from the country as costs became unfavourable, resulting in a significant loss of traffic throughout Spanish news websites.

The EU has yet to respond to Google’s suggested retaliation, although the stand-off could have a variety of consequences. Google strong-arming its way sets a precedent the European Parliament is likely wanting to avoid, while the loss of Google News in the region could devastate publications, particularly the smaller few the EU is trying to compensate.

KitGuru Says: Personally, I use Google News quite often to see what’s out there. It’s even baked into Android with a quick swipe to the right revealing a panel of catered stories for the user. Would the potential loss of Google News affect you?

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YouTube speaks out against EU’s Article 13 copyright changes https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/youtube-speaks-out-against-eus-article-13-copyright-changes/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/youtube-speaks-out-against-eus-article-13-copyright-changes/#respond Thu, 25 Oct 2018 13:46:36 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=392464 The European Union’s (EU) controversial Copyright Directive reared its head once again last month, after a period of amendment befell Articles 11 and 13. While the changes seem to have satisfied the approval process ahead of January’s Parliament vote, YouTube’s CEO has taken the time to warn content creators of the Directive’s implications, condemning the …

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The European Union’s (EU) controversial Copyright Directive reared its head once again last month, after a period of amendment befell Articles 11 and 13. While the changes seem to have satisfied the approval process ahead of January’s Parliament vote, YouTube’s CEO has taken the time to warn content creators of the Directive’s implications, condemning the effort.

Since its 2005 conception, YouTube has built a community based on fair use policies, enabling creators to craft content by remixing copyrighted material to produce something new. Platform head Susan Wojcicki has now penned an open letter informing YouTubers that this right is threatened by the EU’s Article 13.

This portion of the Copyright Directive aims to implement stricter protection for copyrighted material, resulting in content being heavily filtered as it’s uploaded to the web. This would inevitably place liability on the platform itself to ensure creators fall in line, as bigger companies dominate the scene.

“Article 13 as written threatens to shut down the ability of millions of people – from creators like you to everyday users – to upload content to platforms like YouTube. It threatens to block users in the EU from viewing content that is already live on the channels of creators everywhere. This includes YouTube’s incredible video library of educational content, such as language classes, physics tutorials and other how-to’s,” explains Wojcicki.

“This legislation poses a threat to both your livelihood and your ability to share your voice with the world. And, if implemented as proposed, Article 13 threatens hundreds of thousands of jobs, European Creators, businesses, artists, and everyone they employ. The proposal will force platforms, like YouTube, to prioritize content from a small number of large companies. The burden of copyright proof will be too high for most independent creators to instantly demonstrate. There is a better way forward for copyright online but it’s critical you speak up now as this decision may be finalized by the end of the year.”

Wojcicki isn’t alone in her worries, as World Wide Web creator Tim Burners-Lee and Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales have both challenged the vague movement to be intrusive and overbearing, although the two haven’t said much since the publication of the amendments. Still, the #SaveYourInternet hashtag is still going strong since before the retraction, with Wojcicki pleading with people to learn more before January’s vote.

KitGuru Says: The amendments definitely show progress, but it still seems that the EU is still taking a very ham-handed approach towards copyright protection with outright censorship. Hopefully more changes can be made before the vote goes ahead early next year. How do you feel about Article 13?

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EU votes in favour of amended Copyright Directive, retaining “link tax” and “upload filter” https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/eu-votes-in-favour-of-amended-copyright-directive-retaining-link-tax-and-upload-filter/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/eu-votes-in-favour-of-amended-copyright-directive-retaining-link-tax-and-upload-filter/#respond Thu, 13 Sep 2018 11:21:09 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=386690 In July, the European Parliament voted against the intrusive Copyright Directive, sending Article 11 and 13 back to the drawing board. Amended versions of both have since been approved, continuing to carry the controversial “link tax” and “upload filter” respectively. Easily the most heavily discussed portion of the Copyright Directive before its initial rejection, Article …

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In July, the European Parliament voted against the intrusive Copyright Directive, sending Article 11 and 13 back to the drawing board. Amended versions of both have since been approved, continuing to carry the controversial “link tax” and “upload filter” respectively.

Easily the most heavily discussed portion of the Copyright Directive before its initial rejection, Article 11 attempted to implement a link tax by penalising shared links to sourced information without paying a royalty fee, while Article 13 suggested an internet filter to detect copyrighted material. The former had been criticised for its ability to be abused by copyright trolls, whereas the latter would rely on an algorithm that would likely infringe on free speech.

Article 11 is intended to protect the copyright of written materials, reserving the right for originators to demand a royalty fee when they are quoted as a source. In theory, this helps to stomp out fake news given that legitimate businesses are likely to maintain control over their work, though it doesn’t quite work that way in practice.

Despite successfully pushing the Spanish government into placing restrictions on Google News and requiring the platform to pay originators for the preview material it uses, news outlets found their traffic down up to 15 percent when Google retaliated by removing the feature from the country in its entirety. Google itself didn’t suffer a wink, given that no advertisements are present for News to make any money for the platform, however Spanish publications regretted their decision.

Although Article 13 requires platforms to work with rights holders in order to prevent the upload of copyrighted content, the Big Brother-like blanket filter necessary to detect content that offends the strict laws is sure to be even worse for the general public. While YouTube already filters content via audio, allowing users to demonetise their content or take it down entirely, Article 13 would require the platform to begin sweeping imagery within the video before it’s available for public viewing.

Small platforms are expected to be punished harshly for their use of social media as marketing tools, whereas the everyday internet user is afraid that general GIFs and memes could be made illegal. Such an intrusion of free speech has been the cornerstone of arguments made by World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee to rescind the Article.

MEPs reviewed the revised versions of each Article, with 438 votes in favour of approving the Copyright Directive and 226 against. A final vote will be cast in January, 2019 to decide whether the amended Articles will make it into EU law, however it’s unlikely that the proposal will be rejected a second time with such an overwhelming amount in favour of approval.

Among the amendments, sharing and information sites like GitHub and Wikipedia will be exempt from Article 13, while publications will now be able to get away with “individual words” and hyperlinks without fear of punishment under Article 11. This does, however, suggest that full quotes will be off limits.

If the Copyright Directive sees final approval, nations will be free to individually interpret each Article to their choosing, meaning that laws could vary significantly per country. No matter how it is received, the change is expected to be disruptive for much more than just the EU, spanning the entire world.

KitGuru Says: I’m sceptical that it will come to such extremes if the Copyright Directive sees implementation, however it is concerning just how things will change when interacting with the internet. What do you think of Article 11 and 13 being pushed through?

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