The European Parliament has approved the reform of the directive on copyright in the digital single market. The proposal on Copyright it was adopted with 438 votes in favour, 226 against and 39 abstentions.
The text was rejected in the Chamber on 5 June, only to be flooded with amendments.
“The copyright directive is a victory for all citizens – commented the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani – Today the European Parliament has chosen to defend European and Italian culture and creativity, putting an end to the digital far-west”.
The most important articles of the reform of the directive are 11 and 13. The first foresees that the giants of the Internet – from Google to Facebook, from Microsoft to Apple – pay fair compensation to publishers and journalists for the use of their content. The second introduces the licensing obligation – and therefore the payment of copyrights – for companies that broadcast audio and video via the web. Companies like Youtube will be responsible for block the loading of protected content.
Attention: the directive does not impose any costs on users, does not limit its activity in any way and does not hinder the development of web 2.0 sites such as Wikipedia. It is important to underline this, given that the companies damaged by the reform have spread a series of fake news to get public opinion on their side: for example the imaginative "link tax" charged to users, which in reality does not exist.
Fake news accompanied a an unprecedented lobbying effort. “Pressure from web giants? Yes, it's true – Tajani confirms to Radio24 – my office went haywire, blocked by storms of emails and phone calls. Indeed, some socialist parliamentarians have received death threats”.
As for the line-up of Italian parties, the Democratic Party voted in favor of the reform, while the 5 Star Movement and the Lega were against.
