The European Union Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market,
requires the likes of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
to take more responsibility for copyrighted material being shared illegally
on their platforms.
Article 13, requires online platforms to filter or remove copyrighted material
from their websites. It’s this article that people think could be interpreted
as requiring platforms to ban memes, but more on that later.
The Directive on Copyright would make online platforms and aggregator sites
liable for copyright infringements, and supposedly direct more revenue from
tech giants towards artists and journalists.
Currently, platforms such as YouTube aren’t responsible for copyright violations,
although they must remove that content when directed to do so by the rights
holders.
*More explanation:
All this article is saying is,article 13, that any websites that host large amounts of
user-generated content are responsible for taking down that content if it
infringes on copyright.
The final wording of Article 13 sets out exactly which platforms will need
upload filters and which ones won't. The only way a site that hosts
user-generated content can avoid putting in place a upload filter is if it
fulfills all three of the following criteria:
- it has been available for fewer than three years
- it has an annual turnover below €10 million
- it had fewer than five million unique monthly visitors
This means a huge number of sites – from fishing forums to niche social
networks – that will need to install upload filters.
YouTube is by far the most vocal critic of Article 13, with the firm making
a big effort to promote opposition to the directive among its creators and
users. A popup on the YouTube website and app directs users to a page with
the title "#saveyourinternet" which includes a video from YouTube explaining
the firm's objections to the directive.
YouTube argues that article 13 "threatens hundreds of thousands of creators,
artists and others employed in the creative economy."
*When is Article 13 happening?
Although the Article 13 vote has been passed by the European Parliament,
this doesn't mean its provisions take place straight away.
It will now be up to the EU's member states to enact Article 13 and the
Copyright Directive. Each country within the EU will be able to interpret
the law and how it should be implemented in its own ways.
*Article 12a:
Article 12a might stop anyone who isn’t the official organiser of a sports
match from posting any videos or photos of that match. This could put a stop
to viral sports GIFs and might even stop people who attended matches from
posting photos to social media. But as with the articles above, all of this
depends on how the directive is interpreted by member states when they make
it into national law.
Conclusion:!
It feels good to be a steemian (for now...)