You can call this GDPR 2.0, and it’s a much bigger nightmare Made in Europe.
The European parliament has approved a controversial new law on Internet copyright, with a 348-274 vote.
Article 11, often referred to as “link tax,” will require companies such as Google to maintain licenses for providing links to publishers.
Article 13, called the “robocopyright” law, requires companies such as Reddit to police their platforms for copyright infringements, and provide for an automated method that removes such content.
Of all things, memes will be specifically excluded from the effect of the new laws, along with GIF images, but is this really the point of a law, to police entertainment right down to the file format?
Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and an outspoken opponent of the new Eurolaws, spoke openly against the voting result:
“You, the Internet user, have lost a huge battle today in Internet parliament. The free and open internet is being quickly handed over to corporate giants at the expense of ordinary people. This is not about helping artists, it is about empowering monopolistic practices.”
A big FUCK YOU goes out to all the European Parliament bureaucrats that are bent over by mega-corporations and want to dictate to billions of people around the world how to peruse digital content.
It’s nothing like GDPR, but yes, it should have never been passed and was passed while ignoring the protests. The bill will hopefully presented in the upcoming EU elections. Make sure to vote if you are an EU citizen, no matter where you live.
Also the next run of protests will follow when the countries try to translate this into local laws. Don’t get me started how this isn’t even possible technically…
Frank – The reference to GDPR is that it is shoved down the throat of non-European Union countries.