The European Union has taken the first step in passing new copyright legislation that critics say would shake up the internet, with Google, Facebook, Microsoft and other tech giants to face more curbs on their market power.
A European Parliament committee on Wednesday voted in favor of tougher copyright rules, which were proposed by the European Commission two years ago. The rules are designed to take account of the role of online platforms, forcing them to share revenues with publishers and bear liability for copyright infringement on the internet.
The vote is likely to be the Parliament's official stance as it heads into negotiations with EU countries on a common position.
Internet luminaries and activists have criticized the EU reforms, but copyright holders have applauded them.
Criticism has focused on two articles of the proposed new law. Article 11 or the so-called neighboring right for press publishers could force Google, Microsoft and others to pay publishers for showing news snippets.
Article 13 or mandatory upload filtering would require online platforms such as YouTube, GitHub, Instagram and eBay to install filters to prevent users from uploading copyrighted materials or seek licenses to display content. |