I thought it was over. Now it might be. · 1:12pm Feb 13th, 2019
Article 13 came back.
Apparently, France and Germany, both countries that supported upload filters but couldn't agree on how to implement them (which was part of the reason it got stalled back in January) came to an agreement and now it's back on.
Not only is it back on, but the final trilogue negotiations are happening LITERALLY RIGHT NOW.
Apparently they want to rush it through before the next round of elections in spring. Makes sense since literally EVERYBODY in the EU is pissed off at this notion except for corrupt executives in the big music/news/television busniesses.
I have no idea how I missed this news. Apparently it came right the fuck out of nowhere only a few days ago and I only heard about it yesterday.
What's more, the text has apparently been made EVEN WORSE because some of the companies that I thought opposed it? Well... apparently they opposed it because they didn't think that Articles 11 and 13 were extreme enough.
In a few hours we'll know whether or not the internet as we know it is going to get a the mother of all bombs dropped on it.
I literally haven't been able to sleep and I'm on the cusp of a goddamn panic attack.
Even if the Eurocucks go through with this, the rest of the world is under no obligation to comply. That's the beauty of sovereign nations. Most companies that try to do a blanket policy internationally will face severe backlash, especially here in the States.
5012357
Remember that wave of ToS updates a while back? Websites usually just go by the most restrictive set of laws because it's vastly easier than maintaining different sites for different regions. Best case scenario, this effectively kills the Internet in the EU. Worst case, it's the end of the Net as we know it. And I don't feel fine.
5012357
In theory, you're correct, but companies do tend to impose blanket policies rather than have different policies for different users in different countries. Usually companies just target the strictest set of rules and comply with those rules by applying them to everyone, such as what happened with GDPR when we all got a million messages about how companies had updated their privacy policies, and how we now have to click that we accept cookies when we go to almost literally any website.
It remains to be seen whether with such a MASSIVE, sweeping change like what's being proposed by the EU right now they'll actually have the balls to go through with it everywhere, though. I have no idea. It would be "easier" for them to just create a single set of rules, but it would also probably create some level of mass anger... assuming people haven't COMPLETELY been turned into sheep yet. Which is up for debate.
5012362
I think even if the6 did try doing that, the backlash would be so severe that the companies would stop it and Have a free Internet basically everywhere except places like China, North Korea and now Europe. Though I am interested in how Poland will deal with this, on account of censorship of any kind is illegal in their Constitution.
5012364
I think the loophole they're using is that it's not "censorship," it's "protecting copyright."
...Even though people already abuse copyright law to censor people