On 20 June, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) approved a version of Article 13 of the draft Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market that is deeply harmful to the fundamental rights of freedom of speech and freedom of information.
This is one of those laws that actually does change your day-to-day life. The consequences of Article 13 would be immense and obvious.
Join our campaign and demand a copyright law that safeguards your online free speech!
If you make home videos or memes, if you record yourself playing video games, if you have a gift for karaoke that you want to share with the world – in all of these examples and so many more, you'll notice Article 13.
That's because all of these materials could be censored by bots and blocked from being uploaded, severely restricting your ability to share – and see – so many things on the internet. Do you want to understand what is at stake? Watch this video.
But it's not too late to stop Article 13. Some of the members of the European Parliament want to side with big copyright holders and spare themselves from putting in the effort to get it right and come up with a bill that protects both copyright holders and everyone's free speech.
They are not mutually exclusive – we can protect both copyright and free speech at the same time.
By including these six safeguards into Article 13, members of the European Parliament could successfully protect the interests of everyone.
Now the battle heads to the plenary, where all MEPs will have a say on Article 13. There are members who fight for a better and more balanced regulation.
Our task is to convince those who are hesitating. We have to convince them that our free speech is non-negotiable.
