it went through · 4:41am Mar 27th, 2019
We're still here... for now.
As I said in the previous blog, there's going to be another two years of deliberation between all the EU member states as they figure out just how they want to implement Article 13 in their respective nations. But pretty much regardless of what they individually choose, automatic upload filters are about the only answer that tech companies have to this new, heinous law. And algorithms designed to "play it safe" could (and probably will) hit the internet with a force unto the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs
We stand on the precipice of a loss of history and information potentially far greater than the destruction of the Library of Alexandria.
Our only chance now is for the German federal government to reject it in an upcoming council meeting (because Germany pretty much controls all of Europe these days - no joke, the Fourth Reich is real) on April 9th. Unfortunately that seems unlikely because we got to this point specifically because the German government colluded with the French government to make all this happen.
If I'm not mistaken, the Germans were flip flopping on A13 but France really wanted it, and offered the Germans cheaper prices on imported Russian oil if they went through with it. It was something along those lines.
That's right everybody. Your internet freedoms were stomped all over because Germany wanted oil. Russian oil no less. I'm pretty sure everybody can stop making fun of America now for their oil-grubbing tendencies now that Germany has literally screwed over the entire western world for more oil.
But basically, unless Germany goes back on that deal and is convinced to stop flip flopping then it's happening.
As I said, we've (theoretically) got two years before it gets fully implemented. I would HIGHLY recommend that everybody (and I do mean everybody) spend the next two years downloading EVERYTHING you can get your hands on that you feel you want to preserve, because we're almost certainly going to see a mass extinction of websites and user-created content.
I do have to stress that we've only theoretically got two years, though. It's very possible that we'll start seeing changes as early as April 9th as websites and businesses see the upcoming change and "bunker down for the storm" by implementing changes sooner than strictly necessary. That will vary between individual websites. But we could see changes anywhere from as soon as April 9th, to as late as sometime in 2021.
I'd recommend downloading your favorite youtube videos first, along with other content from larger websites. Those are the ones that are more likely to "bunker down for the storm" because they actually have the ability to weather that storm. Smaller websites, like this one, will likely not implement changes immediately because they really have no way to weather the storm at all and will just get washed away. So sites like FiMFiction will probably be around until the bitter end while you may see changes on sites like youtube and facebook as early as next month.
I'd highly recommend that people start looking into options with less ability to be regulated if they want to keep enjoying user-created content. Mass e-mail listings, Usenet services, and Discord/Skype are probably the best options. A13 doesn't seem like it can directly affect e-mail and programs like Skype or Discord.
And as always, be sure to diversify your presence. If you only have your stories/videos/etc on a single website then it's entirely possible that everything will be wiped away if your website gets hit. However, if you spread your stories to multiple websites not only do you reach larger audiences in the meantime, but there's also a chance that ONE of those sites will somehow slip through A13's cracks.
There's also the chance that if it does go through on the 9th. companies and websites will simply block their services in the EU instead of complying with the law, google and the stuff it owns are most likely to go that route from what I've heard. FIMfiction is likely screwed either way. Right now, it looks like we might just see Europe getting cut off and the rest of the world relatively unaffected..., Aside from the massive economic destruction that Europe basically losing access to the digital market will cause. Though there's probably going to be massively negative economic repercussions no matter what happens. I'm not an expert in economics by any means, but I know enough to realize that you don't just essentially bulldoze an entire medium of communication over an entire sub-continent and potentially heavily damage it everywhere else, and not have that come back to bite you in the ass so hard you regret your very existence.
So we can add extreme possibility of global economic devastation and everything that comes with it on top of all the other bullshit.
Yay. Thanks for decreasing the chances of long term human survival even further, Europe, by whom I mean fucking Germany. i hope your planet killing dead dinosaur sludge was worth it.
Gotta be honest this is bordering on fear-mongering and hysteria. This is only affecting the Eurocucks. America, Canada, Japan, Australia, basically any country outside of Europe won't be affected by this law. This supposed possibility of companies destroying the Internet here because of what happens over there is an incredibly unlikely worst case scenario. If they tried doing that here in the U.S./Canada, the backlash and resistance would be unimaginable. It would be a PR disaster. Relax. We'll be fine. FimFiction will probably move over to a server here in the Americas. This is the death of the Internet in Europe, yes, but not the death of the Internet here in Freedomland or Mapleland.
Fimficarchive is your friend for this site.
The worst part may be how there was a motion to amend articles 11 and 13... that didn't pass because someone screwed with the order of voting options. And in the EU, the button you pressed is how you vote, no take-backs, no redos, no regard for your actual intent.
In all seriousness, though, this is a big issue, and I'm now rather worried. The one speck of good news is that according to the BBC's report on this, the EU added exemptions for review, criticism, and parody. So, for example, things like DWK's Totally Legit Recap series should be safe, assuming the regulations aren't implemented in the form of impassable upload filters. But our fanfics? Probably still being thrown under the bus.
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Okay, but people in Europe matter too. There are still people.
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It sucks for them, but this is what happens when they refuse to curb the EU's anti-liberty platform. They elect these sociopaths and then wonder why all their freedoms are being taken away.