HAX

Category: EU

  • EU to move on Open Access?

    In what European science chief Carlos Moedas calls a “life-changing” move, E.U. member states (…) agreed on an ambitious new open-access (OA) target. All scientific papers should be freely available by 2020, the Competitiveness Council—a gathering of ministers of science, innovation, trade, and industry—concluded after a 2-day meeting in Brussels. But some observers are warning that the goal will be difficult to achieve.

    Science: In dramatic statement, European leaders call for ‘immediate’ open access to all scientific papers by 2020 »

  • Sundes gloomy look at the future of the Internet

    At its inception, the internet was a beautifully idealistic and equal place. But the world sucks and we’ve continuously made it more and more centralized, taking power away from users and handing it over to big companies. And the worst thing is that we can’t fix it — we can only make it slightly less awful.

    That was pretty much the core of Pirate Bay’s co-founder, Peter Sunde‘s talk at tech festival Brain Bar Budapest.

    TNW » Pirate Bay founder: We’ve lost the internet, it’s all about damage control now »

  • Committee vote on EU Copyright: No to the censorship machine. Yes to link tax.

    Today the European Parliaments committee for the internal market (IMCO) has voted on the new EU copyright package.

    The »censorship machine« (demanding that net platforms and ISP:s should filter all user uploaded content) fell. This is a victory for a free and open Internet.

    (But still, the proposal is not quite dead. It can be re-tabled for the main vote in plenary.)

    However, the »link tax« (license fees for linking to mainstream media content) still stands.

    This terrible idea must be stopped in plenary!

    It ain’t over ’till the fat lady sings.

    Update » A more detailed report » IMCO Vote on Copyright in the DSM: crying tears of…? »

    Update 2 » Pirate MEP Julia Reda » 5 takeaways from the first important copyright reform vote in the European Parliament »

  • Romanian parliament rebuff EU Copyright proposals

    A particularly interesting discussion has been unfolding over the past months in the Romanian Parliament, where, on 15 March, the IT&C Committee of the Chamber of Deputies organised a debate on the proposed Directive, in order to collect the views of different stakeholders. After the event, the Committee produced an opinion addressed to the European Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, which is the group responsible for drafting the final report of the Parliament on the package proposal. The members of the IT&C Committee unanimously voted against the European Commission’s Copyright proposal and advised to withdraw it in its entirety.

    EDRi » Romanian Parliament: EU Copyright reform does more harm than good »

  • The real cost of free WiFi?

    EU Observer:

    The European Commission, Parliament and Council (representing member states) agreed on Monday to a €120-million plan to install free wi-fi services in 6,000 to 8,000 municipalities across the EU by 2020. The scheme had been proposed by EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker last September. How the system will be funded will have to be discussed and agreed before local authorities can start applying to it.

    How kind. I guess a lot of people will be happy. But there might be unintended and unwanted consequences.

    First of all, there is no such thing as a free lunch. In the end, this is €129M that somehow, forcefully will be taken from taxpayers.

    Second, there must be much merriment within various mass surveillance organizations. This will make controlling the people that much easier.

    And if you read the parliaments statement, there is mention of a »single authentication system valid throughout the EU«. This will have huge privacy implications. Can we please have a discussion about this first?

    Third, it usually doesn’t end well when politicians start to meddle with what is supposed to be a free market. Is this at all fair competition? What will the consequences be when it comes to developing better and quicker commercial connections?

    Finally, communal WiFi run by your local bureaucracy. What can possibly go wrong? Will it even work? How will surplus metadata that you generate be used? By whom? Wich web pages will be blocked?

    / HAX

  • EU to move on the Internet Censorship Machine and Link-tax

    Next Thursday, June 8, the European Parliaments Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) will have its main vote on the EU Copyright Package.

    Here a proposal will be hammered out for the parliament’s final plenary vote later this summer. So it’s a very important event. And there are dark clouds on the horizon.

    Key points are the EU Censorship Machine (forcing internet platforms to control and, in relevant cases, censor content uploaded by its users) and the Link-tax (a license fee for linking to media news articles).

    This is the best – and maybe last – opportunity to stop this from becoming EU law.

    Take action, spread the word and please contact your elected members of the parliament.

    Julia Reda (German Pirate MEP): Just 9 days left to reject the worst version of EU copyright expansion plans yet »

    BoingBoing: ACT NOW! In 9 days, the European Parliament could pass a truly terrible copyright expansion »

  • EU member states pushing for video censorship and cultural protectionism

    In the EU, member states are pressing on for censorship of online video:

    European Union ministers have approved proposals to make social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube tackle videos with hate speech on their platforms.

    The proposals, which would be the first legislation at EU level on the issue, still need to be agreed with the European Parliament before becoming law.

    And, under the same scheme, there is a totally unrelated proposal for cultural protectionism:

    The proposals also include a quota of 30 per cent of European films and TV shows on video streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

    Member states will also be able to require video-sharing platforms to contribute financially to the production of European works in the country where they are established and also where they target audiences.

    Daily Mail: EU ministers approve plans to force Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to tackle hate speech videos »

  • Open letter to the EU on German »NetzDG «

    This bill asks social media companies to take down content, including perfectly legal material, that social media companies like Facebook can arbitrarily label as “hate speech”, “fake news”, “pornographic content”, among other categories. In addition, the draft law de facto imposes filtering of content, despite the fact that such technology cannot understand context and will, therefore, inevitably lead to still more legal content being deleted. The basic aim of the bill is, of course, well-intentioned. However, the way this bill is drafted appoints social media companies as arbiters of legality and “the truth”. Furthermore, this bill breaches EU law, which establishes that all restrictions to fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, must be provided for by law, necessary and proportionate (Article 52 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union). In addition, EU law also prohibits imposing general monitoring obligations on companies. If adopted, this unprecedented law would serve as a bad example for other states, including countries with serious democratic deficits.

    EDRi » EU action needed: German NetzDG draft threatens freedom of expression »

  • EU Commission failing its oath

    The President of the European Commission said in 2010: “The oath of independence and respect for the EU Treaties is more than a symbolic act”. As it turned out, it was not even a symbolic act.

    Joe McNamee, EDRi: Commissioners’ oath – a broken promise on fundamental rights »

  • Is EU slowly killing the Internet?

    Article 13 (in the European Union’s draft Copyright Directive), fewer than 250 words, is designed to provoke such legal uncertainty that internet companies will have no option other than to block, filter and monitor our communications, if they want to have any chance of staying in business. Ultimately, only the current internet giants, shedding crocodile tears at the prospect, will be able to survive. From global internet to “Googlebook”.

    Joe McNamee, EDRi: Killing parody, killing memes, killing the internet? »