O dia em que a Internet morreu ?

O dia em que a Internet morreu ?

OVOODOCORVO

Europe’s copyright reforms are all about the money

Controversial vote on the digital economy shows the pendulum has swung in favor of content creators.

By           MARK SCOTT     9/12/18, 6:54 PM CET Updated 9/13/18, 4:04 AM CET

https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-copyright-european-parliament-voss-google-facebook/

LONDON — It was the day the internet died. Or maybe it wasn’t.

The European Parliament’s vote to overhaul digital copyright Wednesday left many questions unanswered as both sides of the often heated (and increasingly bitter) debate prepared for further lobbying ahead of a final agreement, which is now expected sometime next year.

The tussle, which has pitted internet giants like Google against some the region’s largest publishing interests, had been framed as a once-in-a-generation fight for the future of the internet.

It was billed as an epic standoff between those who wanted the region’s 500 million citizens to have ready access to the digital world, and those who believed that creators of online content like music, books and newspapers are not getting a fair share of the online pie.

In truth, the real motivator was less high-minded than many involved would like you to think.

At its core, the debate comes down to a question about how a 21st century digital economy should be funded.

It was about money.

With people’s media habits moving online faster than you can say “Netflix and chill,” the power balance between content creators like movie studios and broadcasters has shifted in favor of online platforms like YouTube and Facebook.

The average digital consumer may not care what media they use to access the latest episode of their favorite series, or favorite article from a trusted news source.

But the creators of such content — as well as the business interests that lie behind many of Europe’s most popular brands — certainly do.

And they want a larger slice of online ad revenue, which has made some of Silicon Valley firms among the most profitable anywhere in the world.

Google has found itself in the middle of the digital economy debate over publishers’ rights | Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images

At its core, the debate comes down to a question about how a 21st century digital economy should be funded.

Should the likes of Google and Facebook — which invest tens of billions of euros each year in their digital infrastructure to make online experiences as seamless as possible — pocket the lion’s share of profits generated online, even if it’s on the backs of digital material produced by others?

Or should the creative sector — including everyone from newspapers (Germany’s Axel Springer, co-owner of POLITICO’s European edition, is a member of the European Publishers Council, a vocal proponent of the copyright changes) to record labels and movie studios — get a bigger share, by guarding against illegal use of hard-earned (and costly) material?

What now, Strasbourg?

With Wednesday’s controversial vote, the pendulum certainly has swung in favor of content creators.

The most hotly debated proposals, Articles 11 and 13, could allow media houses to charge the likes of Google News when snippets of their articles appear on these aggregation sites, and force digital platforms like YouTube to clamp down on illegally shared material, respectively. (Google says it already does a pretty good job on that front.)

It’s time to ask tough questions about the future of the digital economy.

But as is often the case in Brussels, nothing is yet set in stone.

Lawmakers must first hash things out with the European Commission and member countries, and only in early 2019, at the earliest, will we see a final agreement. That agreement must then be transcribed by each state into national law, with a fair amount of latitude to interpret how the copyright directive should be applied.

But what is clear is that many European officials (some countries remain staunchly opposed to the proposals, which still could be altered) have decided that digital platforms — almost entirely American companies — need to pay more to support local publishers, movie studios and broadcasters.

There is no denying an element of protectionism in this attitude. You would be hard pressed to find a German publisher, for instance, which hasn’t bent the ear of national politicians in recent months to support the copyright reforms.

But it is also true that Facebook and others benefit significantly from material created by others — a relationship that has started to unravel, at least with newspapers, after several publications decided to remove their content from the social network’s “Instant Articles” service, which makes it easier for users to access online news. Google’s rival service is doing slightly too well as people move to mobile, according to several publishers and competition experts.

The shifting dynamic between platforms and content creators is not surprising in a world where value — and content — is increasingly dictated by a swipe on a smartphone.

And both sides — despite the hyperbole that has turned a policy debate intensely political, and often personal — have legitimate interests to promote.

But instead of debating what is needed to sustainably fund people’s online habits, the arguments have quickly descended into point-scoring about “saving the meme” (that’s a bogus claim) or how Google siphons billions from publishers through its online news aggregator (also, untrue).

It’s time to ask tough questions about the future of the digital economy.

So far, though, Europe’s copyright overhaul has been about anything but that.

Mark Scott is chief technology correspondent at POLITICO.

Authors:

Mark Scott

EU votes for copyright law that would make internet a 'tool for control'

MEPs defy warnings from internet pioneers, civil liberties groups and commercial interests

Jennifer Rankin in Brussels

Wed 20 Jun 2018 12.49 BST Last modified on Wed 20 Jun 2018 15.27 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jun/20/eu-votes-for-copyright-law-that-would-make-internet-a-tool-for-control

 Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web

 Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web signed an open letter to the European parliament warning that the new law would make the internet a tool for automated surveillance. Photograph: Martial Trezzini/AP

A European parliament committee has voted for legislation that internet pioneers fear will turn the web into “a tool for surveillance and control”.

In a key vote on a draft law to overhaul EU copyright rules, the parliament’s legal affairs committee on Wednesday voted for measures that would require the likes of Google and Microsoft to install filters to prevent users from uploading copyrighted materials.

The MEPs voted narrowly for the provision, despite warnings from some of the biggest names in the internet, and civil liberties campaigners, that the law would damage freedom of expression, while entrenching the power of the biggest companies and loading costs on to European startups.

The plans still have to be agreed with representatives from the EU’s 28 governments before becoming law, but the vote reduces the chances of serious changes.

Opponents of the law vowed to fight on when the legislation comes before all MEPs for a final vote.

“I will challenge this outcome and request a vote in the European parliament next month,” said the Green MEP Julia Reda, who has been leading opposition to the law. “We can still overturn this result and preserve the free internet.”

First proposed by the European commission in 2016, the law attempts to update EU copyright laws for the age of Facebook and Google, with the aim of ensuring that authors, artists and journalists are “paid fairly” for their work.

Critics fear the measures would stifle freedom of expression by curtailing internet users’ ability to share content. Some lawmakers say even memes would be affected, as users would be required to take their own meme photos and give permission for others to use them.

One of the most controversial provisions, article 13, would require platforms, such as Google and Microsoft, to install filters. It was adopted by the committee by 15 votes to 10.

Earlier in June, an open letter signed by 70 of the biggest names of the internet, including the creator of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee, and the Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales, argued that article 13 would take “an unprecedented step towards the transformation of the internet from an open platform for sharing and innovation, into a tool for the automated surveillance and control of its users”.

 “The damage that this may do to the free and open internet as we know it is hard to predict, but in our opinions could be substantial,” the letter said.

Addressed to MEPs, the internet pioneers argued that the cost would fall heavily on European tech companies, as the big platforms, which are exclusively American, could afford the costs of compliance.

Internet experts are also worried about another provision adopted on Wednesday that would force internet platforms, such as Google, to pay publishers for showing snippets of news stories. Reda argues that the “link tax” would drastically curtail internet users from sharing news stories and even holiday photos on the internet. Under the proposals, “such snippets would require licensing, including even short and purely factual headlines like ‘Angela Merkel meets Theresa May’”, she wrote ahead of the vote.

Earlier this year, a group of 169 European academics specialising in intellectual property urged MEPs to reject the “misguided” plans, which they said would “likely impede the free flow of information that is of vital importance to democracy”. Scores of academics have since added their names to the letter, which also says the proposals would be likely to harm journalists, photographers and many “non-institutional creators and producers of news”, including freelancers.

The UN’s special rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye, has also raised concerns about “prepublication censorship”, with automatic filters being unable to detect fair comment, satire, criticism and parody.

In a rare feat, the law has united consumer and tech lobbies in opposition.

Monique Goyens, the director general of the European Consumer Organisation, said MEPs had failed to find a solution to benefit consumers and creators. “The internet as we know it will change when platforms will need to systematically filter content that users want to upload. The internet will change from a place where consumers can enjoy sharing creations and ideas to an environment that is restricted and controlled.”

Meanwhile, Digital Europe said the “unworkable liability regime [for] content filtering will damage rather than aid the online and creative market”. Tech companies also fear the new law will fragment the EU’s online single market, because national governments would decide how “link taxes” would work in their country.

 “If the main ambition of the commission and parliament was to create a non-fragmented digital single market where innovation in the creative sector can flourish, then this result is a complete failure,” said Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, the organisation’s director-general.

Axel Voss, the centre-right MEP who is steering the proposal through parliament, rejected the criticism. “No one is and no one will ever filter the internet,” he said in a statement, while defending the central idea. “These platforms make a considerable profit on the works uploaded by its users, so they can’t simply hide behind the argument that it is the users who are uploading, while the platform is making money from it.”

BEHIND THE VOTE

How the center-right got copyright reform through

Smaller opposition groups failed to unite, and there were fewer abstentions.

By           LAURENS CERULUS AND JOANNA PLUCINSKA    9/12/18, 6:11 PM CET Updated 9/13/18, 4:20 AM CET

https://www.politico.eu/article/copyright-europe-behind-the-vote-why-the-epp-clinched-vote/

The European People’s Party fell in line today to back a reform of copyright rules for the internet, finding unity after being split in a July vote. Only the group’s Swedish delegation struck out on its own, according to a POLITICO breakdown of roll-call votes.

The EPP’s unity was a big reason why EU legislators today voted through a position on new copyright rules, which backers argue would better protect the rights of artists, publishers and the cultural sector against the perceived dominance of internet giants including Google and Facebook.

According to people in the party, the EPP held a meeting ahead of the vote to discuss a common position. No formal guidance was issued, but members were encouraged to back Article 13. Others were concerned that without EPP support, the entire proposal could fail and be sent back to the Commission, so they opted to back the whole proposal.

Parliament voted 438 in favor, 226 against and 39 abstentions for a version of the proposal text that largely supports amendments put forward by the file’s rapporteur Axel Voss.

Here’s a few more reasons why Parliament finally voted to support the text:

1. In addition to the European People’s Party falling into line, most of the Socialists & Democrats followed group recommendations. The vote was ultimately carried by a coalition of two big blocs of votes in Parliament.

2. Smaller groups failed to unite behind a position. The Liberal ALDE split on the issue, as did the Conservative ECR group. The Greens, despite their vocal opposition to the text, still saw nine (Estonian, French, German and Belgian) members vote in favor of it.

3. On a key article, Article 13 on tackling a “value gap” in remunerations platforms are paying to artists, the largest EPP group dominated the roll-call vote: 192 out of 206 MEPs voted for the compromise amendment. Other groups were split on the issue.

4. There were fewer abstentions than in July, with 102 MEPs who did not cast a vote in July participating in today’s vote and 70 supporting the reform. Crucially, 88 MEPs went from voting against the reform to backing it. Click on this link to see who flip-floppers are.

The voting data and visuals in this article are powered by POLITICO Pro Intelligence, a brand new platform that uses powerful technology to provide policy data and insights tailored to your needs.  To request a trial of Pro Intelligence, email pro@politico.eu.