OPINION (RT) – The European Parliament has voted to adopt the highly controversial Article 13 provision which would govern the production and distribution of content online under the auspices of increasing copyright protections. Tuesday’s move will update the EU’s 20-year-old copyright rules and will govern audiovisual content, much to the dismay of many social media users who have already begun outpouring their grief online. However, the parliament said in a statement that sharing memes and gifs has been
protected “even more than it was before” and they will continue to be available and shareable on online platforms. MEPs passed the legislation by 348 votes to 274 Tuesday. Opponents had hoped for last-minute amendments to be made but their efforts were in vain. Julia Reda, a German MEP with the Pirate Party, described it as a “dark day for internet freedom.” Article 13 or ‘The Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market’ makes all platforms legally responsible for the content hosted and shared on their platforms. READ MORE
