In September 2018, Member of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted for a version of the copyright Directive which will indirectly lead to implementing upload filters on most of the services you use online.
Articles 13 have attracted widespread criticism and controversy from European and American parties, with fears that the directives would restrict online expression by requiring websites to obtain licenses in order to link to news articles.
Users will have access to less content and will be unable to share their content with others, even when it’s legal. Moreover, any complaint mechanisms will be easily bypassed if blocking is done under the pretence of terms and conditions violation, rather than as a result of a specific copyright claim.
If platforms become directly liable for user-uploaded content they will arbitrarily remove content based on their terms and conditions. As a result, many creators will see their content get blocked too.
Edward Snowden, an American fugitive, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee took to Twitter and asked people to get active and ask your representative to save your internet.
He also posted a picture which reads “If you vote for upload filters we won’t vote for you.” This is a warning to Member of the European Parliament as the election is due in May 2019.
In less than a month, the European Parliament will not only decide on a new #copyright law, but also on the future of the free and open #internet: If you are from the European Union, get active now, go to https://t.co/pxiZ11AGjG and ask your representative to #SaveYourInternet pic.twitter.com/mtBKaqIX9W
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) March 5, 2019
He Tweeted that “In less than a month, the European Parliament will not only decide on a new #copyright law but also on the future of the free and open #internet: If you are from the European Union, get active now, go to https://pledge2019.eu and ask your representative to #SaveYourInternet.”
The elections to the European Parliament are expected to be held between 23 and 26 May 2019. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) currently represent more than 512 million people from 28 member states.