[ad_1]
The representation of the European Commission in Portugal published Thursday an open letter in which it seeks to clarify the doubts of "the youtubers concerned "with Article 13 of the European Copyright Directive.
"There is no reason to worry, do you know why, because … no, your YouTube channel will not disappear … no, the Internet (as we know it) will not go away no … no, the memes will not disappear ", reads the message signed by Sofia Colares Alves, representative of the EC in Portugal.
In recent days, the controversy over the new European copyright rules on the Internet – discussed for years and about to be approved – has gained new momentum among young people in Portugal after a popular YoutuberPaulo Borges, better known as "Wuant", said that this could cause "the end of the Internet".
"My channel will be deleted and probably not the only one," said "Wuant" on YouTube. The video, which contained several inaccuracies, ran the networks and even became a topic of debate in the classrooms.
Now the European Commission is pouring water on the boil. "Your videos will not be erased and your freedom of expression will not be limited." Article 13 is not meant to the youtubers and it will not affect your channels. Instead, it targets platforms such as YouTube, which take advantage of content that is not in compliance with copyright laws, "reads the letter.
"Living in freedom does not just mean respecting those who produce content (including the youtubers). It also means that we must be responsible and filter the information presented to us. This controversy has nothing to do with "censorship" nor with the "end of the Internet". In fact, this only confirms what we already know: wrong information, although shared 1500 times, is not true, "writes Sofia Colares Alves.
In recent months, several youtubers have made videos similar to those of "Wuant" after receiving emails from the owner of YouTube, Google, to warn them of the consequences of the new digital rules being discussed in the European Union. .
The most controversial article
Article 13 is the most controversial of the proposal under consideration. It gained fame as a "censorship machine" because the original version presented by the EC provided for online services to adopt "effective content recognition technologies" (called "filters" by critics) to monitor the entire content. The goal was to prohibit content based on mechanisms for detecting parts of copyright files (audio, text or video).
The current wording is different and states that "automatic blocking of content" should be avoided. Previously, there was reference to filters. It is now said that platforms "should enter into fair and adequate licensing agreements with rightholders". The idea is not that YouTube will prevent the presence of content on your platform, but will create agreements to pay its authors. However, this involves monitoring the content and, if necessary, also blocking those for which there is no certainty on the issue of copyright.
YouTube considers the proposal "unrealistic". The company is not the only one to oppose the directive. As "Wuant" says in his video, Tim Berners-Lee, the British engineer who invented the World Wide Web, is also against it. There are also several politicians, activists and academics who do not approve of the current proposal. The Portuguese association D3, which fights for the defense of digital rights and which also opposes the current text, remember on twitter that the process is far from over and does not only involve the youtubers, but also "digital rights organizations, free software, open data".
Musicians such as Paul McCartney and Ennio Morricone, who wrote letters supporting the proposal, accuse "technopoles" of promoting misinformation campaigns to avoid paying for their works. In August, several artists and associations linked to the creative sector in Portugal also appealed to Portuguese MEPs to defend the proposal.
[ad_2]
Source link
