MEPs have voted in favour of a controversial copyright package which could see the web hindered by content filters. The law was passed by 348 MEPs to 278, and will be implemented by 2021.
The European Parliament has decided to approve the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive, which includes the controversial Article 11 and Article 13, in its entirety today. The law was backed by 348 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) and rejected by 278. The EU last updated its copyright laws in 2001; with this update, it hopes to make them better suited to modern conditions.
Under Article 13, technology companies could be held responsible for copyrighted content being unlawfully uploaded to their platforms. It’s predicted that to combat this, tech firms will deploy filters in order to stop such content from ever getting onto their platforms in the first place.
Critics of the law say that the consequences of such filters include stifling creativity and that it will lead to the creation of an unequal playing field, with only big firms being able to muster the resources to deploy a filter.
