The EU institutions have reached a political agreement on the reform of copyright law. After the compromise agreed by the European Parliament, Council and Commission, the updated directive only needs formal approval from the Parliament and Council to become law. The EU states will then have two years to implement the changes in national law.
Commission Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said the deal was "a major achievement that was long overdue". While the "negotiations were difficult", the EU reached "a fair and balanced result that is fit for a digital Europe: the freedoms and rights enjoyed by internet users today will be enhanced, our creators will be better remunerated for their work, and the internet economy will have clearer rules for operating and thriving".
The reform of the copyright directive to bring it up to date for the internet age has been under discussion by the EU institutions for over two years, after the European Commission first proposed changes in August 2016. The proposal has raised serious opposition from public interest groups and the internet industry due to two controversial clauses: article 11 creating a right for publishers to be compensated when online aggregators like Google News reproduce snippets of their news and information, and article 13 on the liability of online platforms when users upload copyright protected material without authorisation, such as YouTube.
After a difficult road through the European Parliament last year, the legislation was finally approved by the EU's member states on the Council this month. Talks held 12-13 February between the two institutions and the Commission were able to quickly reach agreement on the final text of the law, largely in line with the compromise in the Council.
Opposition remains
The formal approval could still face resistance, as the industry immediately signalled it was not happy with the text. The Computer & Communications Industry Association said this is a "lost opportunity to achieve a balanced and future-proof EU copyright reform. We fear the law could harm online innovation, scaleups, and restrict online freedoms in Europe. We urge governments and members of the European Parliament to thoroughly assess the consequences of this text before officially adopting it."
Public interest group Public Knowledge also expressed its disappointment with the law. "If enacted as currently reported, this EU-wide legislation will impose draconian copyright obligations on nearly all internet services and companies, requiring content-upload filters, convoluted and uncertain licensing agreements with the entertainment industries, and the payment of a link tax to news incumbents. Public Knowledge strongly opposes the mandates found in Article 13 and Article 11," the group said in a statement.
The ISP association EuroISPA called on MEPs to vote against the law, noting the widespread opposition to article 13 across industries, civil society and academia. The measures will "impose upload filters on platforms, impacting the competitiveness of European innovative SMEs, and leading to the over-blocking of legal content", it said.
MEP Julia Reda said there is some resistance still in Parliament and among some EU member states. The Parliament already halted the legislation from progressing once, rejecting a text approved by the legal affairs committee, and could do so again when it votes in March or April on the final text, she noted. The Council could also block the deal if states representing at least 35 percent of the EU's population vote against; 27 percent already voted against in the Council vote last week.
With EU elections coming up in May, Reda called on internet users to lobby politicians against the law. Over 4.7 million people have already signed a petition protesting the legislation.
