EU politicians reject controversial copyright reforms, 'link tax' -- for now

The EU Parliament voted to reject an overhaul of EU copyright rules Thursday morning, sending the reforms back to planning.

Of the lawmakers who voted on the Copyright Directive, 318 voted against the changes in their current form and 278 voted in favor, with 31 choosing to abstain.

The reforms included two aspects that critics didn't appreciate. Article 11 -- slammed as a "link tax" -- could have made internet content aggregators pay publishers for sharing links, while Article 13 would have made platforms liable for users' copyright infringements by users. This may have limited your use of memes and GIFs.

The reforms will be debated again in September, after the changes are refined by policy makers.

Great success: Your protests have worked! The European Parliament has sent the copyright law back to the drawing board. All MEPs will get to vote on #uploadfilters and the #linktax September 10–13. Now let's keep up the pressure to make sure we #SaveYourInternet! pic.twitter.com/VwqAgH0Xs5

— Julia Reda (@Senficon) July 5, 2018

"Great success: Your protests have worked! The European Parliament has sent the copyright law back to the drawing board," European Pirate Party MEP Julia Reda tweeted after the vote.

"All MEPs will get to vote on #uploadfilters and the #linktax September 10–13. Now let's keep up the pressure to make sure we #SaveYourInternet!"

On Wednesday, Wikipedia shut down in Spain, Italy and Poland to protest the reforms, but access was restored Thursday. The company's founder, Jimmy Wales, is among those criticizing the changes.

In a series of tweets Thursday, Wales urged members of the European Parliament to "listen to people who are of the internet," not just to corporate lobbyists.

An open invitation to any MEPs who voted "yes" today - talk to me. Talk about what compromise looks like when it isn't just between the tech giants and the music industry, i.e. when respect for the public is included.

— Jimmy Wales (@jimmy_wales) July 5, 2018

On Thursday also, Wikimedia Foundation (the nonprofit behind Wikipedia) wrote a statement on its blog.

"The Wikimedia Foundation applauds the results of this vote and the opportunity it offers for a wider discussion to create a balanced, modern copyright system for Europe," it said.

"Now that the proposed copyright directive will be open for amendments once again, it is time to support improvements that harmonize copyright across the EU and preserve basic online freedoms."

Those in favor of the directive include European broadcasters, publishers and artists like Paul McCartney, who say it would level the playing field for content holders, Reuters notes.

McCartney didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Originally published July 5 at 5:29 a.m. PT.
Updated at 9:31 a.m PT:  Added comments from Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales.
Updated July 6 at 4:54 a.m. PT: Added statement from Wikimedia.

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