The combined influence of Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Plácido Domingo and David Guetta was not enough to convince MEPs to make significant changes to the copyright law.
They were among 1300 musicians who called on politicians to adopt a law that forces internet sites like YouTube and Facebook to use filters that would stop consumers from uploading their music illegally. The German MEP Axel Voss was responsible for the implementation of the legislation and recently published a video designed to counter what he called “fake news” about legislation.
Musicians are being victims of fraud and lose money, although websites make huge profits from their work. The critics of the proposal, however, say the laws would suppress creativity. The leader of Creative Commons Ryаn Merkley noted that Beatles would have been prevented from making cover versions according to the proposed rules.
For simple consumers, this would result in downloading from the network while uploading text, music and videos published in blogs, social networks, and comments sections, similar to the controversial system to identify YouTube Content ID.
Eventually, MEPs decided that the changes needed wider debate and sent the proposals back to Parliament. The result – 318 votes against and 278 in favour, so the MEPs rejected the controversial copyright directive, whose opponents say it risks imposing an unprecedented censorship on the Internet.
The main topics of disagreement are Articles 11 and 13. The first concerns the protection of publications in the press when they are used online – it carries the copyright of the old Directive 2001/29/EC into the digital era and provides that they are repaid 20 years after initial publication.
Article 13 covers that service providers who store large volumes of art related works and other objects uploaded by their users and provide access to them to the public, undertake in cooperation with the right holders measures to ensure protection and prevent breach in their services.
Both sides will undoubtedly strengthen their campaigns at the same time before the inevitable new collision.
