Copyright is not a word that makes the blood rush. Perhaps that’s why so little attention has been given to EU plans to reform copyright laws for the digital age. These plans could have a damaging effect on freedom of expression, privacy and information sharing. Two proposals in particular are worrying. The first will force anyone using snippets of journalistic online content to obtain a licence. The aim is to generate income for publishers from aggregators such as Google and Reddit. Since readers usually want to know what a link leads to before clicking, most websites include a snippet of the linked-to content. Any limitation on snippets is hence also a limitation on linking.
The proposal would potentially restrict not just big players but smaller sites and individuals who publish news snippets. Germany and Spain have introduced similar laws, which have failed badly and been disastrous for publishers, the very group the EU seeks to protect.
A second proposal would make online platforms hosting user-uploaded content monitor user behaviour and filter contributions, rather than reviewing content reported as copyright infringements after it has been published.
The EU wants to strengthen the music industry in negotiations with sites such as YouTube. But the proposal would inevitably require an automated system of monitoring that could not distinguish copyright infringement from legal uses such as parody. The plan will require the indiscriminate monitoring of platform users. It might also harm code-hosting platforms – key to open-source software – and scientific repositories, undermining access.
Copyright is a delicate issue, requiring the rights of content creators to be balanced against the demands of free speech and open access. What it doesn’t require is the kind of size 13 boots treatment threatened by the EU.