The European Parliament rejected today the Legal Affairs Committee's proposal regarding new European copyright laws - Copyright Directive (Parliament to review copyright rules in September), which aimed at adjusting the current legislation to the digital market. The next vote will occur in September, likely after some amendments are introduced.
The rejected proposal was a result of heavy lobbying by artists and journalists, as it aimed to ensure they receive fair pay for their work, by strengthening content protection against sharing platforms and news aggregators. For example, in order to motivate sharing platforms to block internet users from uploading and sharing copyright-protected content, such platforms would be required to pay fees to rightholders whose content would be found to be uploaded and shared on their platforms. This means that platforms would need to apply more sophisticated content-screening software, especially since the measures adopted by them would need to allow for uploading of non-infringing copyright content, as well as provide an opportunity to internet users for an appeal from a decision to block a particular upload. This way the freedom of expression could be preserved, but of course this further complicates online platforms' obligations and makes them more expensive (see more: MEPs update rules for the digital age).
