Brussels — The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament today adopted its report on the copyright proposal. MEPs adopted upload filters for online platforms and narrowly voted to introduce a publishers’ right, the so-called “link tax”. The report is expected to be up for discussion at the European Parliament plenary session, likely in early July.
Hundreds of academics, civil rights groups and the online sector have all opposed these measures. National versions of the publishers’ right have already failed in Germany and in Spain, and it will undermine free expression online and access to information if mandated at EU-level. Upload filters will introduce a general obligation to monitor user uploaded content, thereby damaging European citizens’ fundamental rights and undermining platforms’ limited liability regime, a legal cornerstone for the European digital sector.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Senior Policy Manager Maud Sacquet:
“We regret today’s committee vote. The introduction of a publishers’ right and of upload filters will harm European citizens’ fundamental rights and Europe’s digital sector. We urge all MEPs to contest this report and to support balanced copyright rules, which respect online rights and support Europe’s digital economy ”