EU Copyright Reform Proposal

[Toto]

A black day for Europe and the Internet.

E.U. lawmakers have endorsed an overhaul of the bloc's two-decade old copyright rules, which will force Google and Facebook to pay publishers for use of news snippets and make them filter out protected content.

The European Parliament backed the reforms by 348 votes to 274 on Tuesday after a debate that has pitted Europe's creative industry against tech companies, internet activists and consumer groups concerned that the new rules may be too costly and block too much content.

[BondJmsBond]

It's a disaster. The EU just waited a while and tried again, now they have it. What a great tool to control and dominate people's lives through the internet. Look what the Chinese have done with it -
http://survivalupdate.com/chinese-so...-credit-score/

In China, if you owe money, get traffic tickets, post anything the government does not approve of on the internet, have a late library book, have a late payment to anyone, you get penalized.
Too many penalty points? - You can't fly. You can't ride a fast train. The fking ring-tone on your phone is set to a special 'deadbeat' ring tone everyone knows so you will be shamed if your phone rings in public!

Looks like the EU is trying for that level of control over it's people.

The EU people promoting it pooh-pooh any idea of it being used that way - "It will never be used like that". We know better.

[Frosty]

E.U. lawmakers have endorsed an overhaul of the bloc's two-decade old copyright rules, which will force Google and Facebook to pay publishers for use of news snippets and make them filter out protected content.

Wait until those same lawmakers complain because they can't find any European news entities on Google, Twitter or Facebook,
or better yet...those tech companies start charging them for the privilege of being on their service.

[Toto]

[BondJmsBond]

In a related matter, Australia, in their reaction to the New Zealand murders, has now passed a law requiring websites, hosts, etc. to refrain from causing 'online harm' or be fined big amounts.

The UK is now trying to do the same.

The 'online harm' is vaguely defined and can be redefined - not that it is now - at any time.

This stuff blows me away, our traditional Western freedoms, including freedom of speech, are being taken away at a rapid rate 'for the greater good'.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consul...ms-white-paper

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...-content.shtml

[Frosty]

Yes, because doing absolutely nothing about it has worked wonders up until now.

[Misrule]

Freedom of speech has always been more limited in Europe than in the US. There is an attempt to balance it against the rights of others not to be harmed e.g. libel, incitement to harm, etc. It's tricky and the UK's approach seems overly broad and poorly defined. On the other hand, it's difficult to defend live streaming a mass murder...