Proposals to modernize the rules governing copyright in the Digital Single Market have been approved by the Legal Affairs Committee. These include Article 13, which will impose copyright filtering on digital platforms. The proposals still have to pass a plenary vote in the European Parliament.
ADVERTISEMENT
The European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee has voted to approve a proposed directive on copyright.
The idea is to modernize the rules governing the digital single market.
The controversial Article 13 would require all digital platforms to filter content for copyright infringements.
Artists and content creators have welcomed the measures - they feel existing rules do not adequately protect their rights.
Youtube already has a copyright filtering system - but this directive would make all platforms introduce such technology. That includes newspapers, not just audiovisual content.
It's raised concerns about censorship among critics, like Julia Reda, an MEP from the Pirate Party and Vice Chair of the Green/EFA group. She has vowed to continue to fight the proposal as it goes to a plenary vote in the European Parliament.
The directive has some stiff opposition, including from the Wikimedia Foundation and the founder of the internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
First proposed in 2016, the proposals still have a few more hurdles to pass before they can be implemented.