Yes, it's that time again where we delve into the law, specifically the problems surrounding what happens when outdated policies come into contact with the internet. The last few times have been bad. We have seen things like SOPA, efforts to destroy internet neutrality and worse things still. Unfortunately, this one might be the nuclear option in all that, as Europe has begun pushing for a number of quite insane policies.
As described by Wired, "A proposed new European copyright law wants large websites to use "content recognition technologies" to scan for copyrighted videos, music, photos, text and code in a move that could impact everyone from the open source software community to remixers, livestreamers and teenage meme creators.
In an open letter to the President of the European Parliament, some of the world's most prominent technologists warn that Article 13 of the proposed EU Copyright Directive "takes an unprecedented step towards the transformation of the Internet from an open platform for sharing and innovation, into a tool for the automated surveillance and control of its users."
The big one here is, of course, the fact that this would be highly invasive. It would require companies to relentlessly spy on those online and utilise a growing series of extremely invasive programs in order to accomplish this. What's more, it would double down on a massive problem we already suffer from: Youtube copyright bots. Speak to anyone who uploads stuff onto Youtube, anyone who tries to make a living from videoes or even does it for personal entertainment. Then listen to them describe the countless problems and all the hoops they need to jump through in order to accomplish anything. Listen to how these people have their work flagged by long bankrupt companies which folded decades ago, singular episodes of TV series, or even by themselves under this automated system. Or, if you can't be bothered to do that, then listen to Jim Sterling rant about it. That would be for the entire internet, and yet it would be the very tip of the iceberg.
Any written information using images, sound effects, even words if this was extended, would be open to copyright flagging. Those reposting elements which they had not personally created, even for reviews or to cite points, could easily be flagged and their content destroyed. News reports could have sloppily written copyright claims filed against them, negative reviews could be taken down by this sort of thing being wielded like a weapon and, yes, even internet memes would be outlawed.
We have seen in the past how many corporations are more than willing to use such systems as a cudgel to beat down those with less power. Just take a look at what any major corporation involved with Youtube can get away with, and there's no reason to think the same will not happen again here. The likes of Sega removing Shining Force videos to boost search ratings for their own content, or the company behind Pixels indiscriminately flagging everything with the word "pixel" in it with DMCAs, won't be exceptions. They might even become commonplace.
Fan websites, online journals, personal blogs, social media, even historical websites documenting centuries-old events would all be at the mercy of this system. It would effectively destroy a large swathe of online life, and livelihoods, for a substantial part of the Western world. And now, thanks to how overlooked this has been, we only have 24 hours to try and change their minds.
If you have any desire to avoid this at all, click here and start sending e-mails. I don't care how overdone you think memes are, or even if copyright needs to be adjusted for online media. This isn't the way to do it.
This is depressing. What's happening to the world when Europe is using China as a role model, and the US is using both Nazi Germany and North Korea as not idealistic paradises? I feel this might also be sliding under the radar just because the US's policy of stealing children away from their parents in order to blackmail the opposing party is getting a lot of attention. For the record they're literally doing it by telling their parents they're taking them away for baths and never returning them (while saying they'll only change this if the democrats give them the money they want to build their wall).
ReplyDeleteGetting back on this topic though, this never ends well. People spying on other people only lead to worse governments as a whole, worse living conditions and a complete lack of empathy from those in power as they treat those they spy on as being less than a person.