The European Copyright Directive, which proposal has been two years in the running, was voted for approval on June 20, and closely following on the heels of the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) already passed into law.
While the European Parliament's legal affairs committee voted to approve the draft legislation, the Copyright Directive could potentially impact the free flow of information on the internet as we know it now.
It differs from the GDPR in scope, and perhaps in how it is perceived by the world at large, even as the proposal has met with the opposite reaction. Albeit, both the GDPR and the Copyright Directive promises internet users more privacy of their information, it's generally regarded as prove that the EU is once again leading the way in the internet regulations.
The Directive is Europe's attempt to harmonize copyright laws across all member countries, with the last EU-wide copyright law enacted in 2001, at a time the internet was much more different than it is today.
The new Directive is designed to make the law more relevant to the internet of today, as well as to draw a roadmap for the future projection of the growth of the internet. But critics believe that its unclear in terms of what actually needs to change and how the law will be enforced.
Though most members of the European Parliament support the overhaul of the copyright law, some believe its criticisms are obviously exaggerated.
In some part, it will introduce filters to check that contents uploaded would be mandatory for platforms like: YouTube, Instagram, Reddit and Tumblr; which YouTube already mimics with Content ID, which serves as a protection for copyright infringement, albeit the technology take quite a long time to build and refine.
And there are certain concerns that it will outlaw news aggregators or prevent any sites which could not afford a license, from linking to articles at all.
On the brighter side, it would force social networks to take more direct responsibility for policing uploaded content, which will reduce the spread of misinformation and fake news on the platforms. But as not much content are generated from within Europe, it could perhaps suffice as Europe's take-on on popular memes, and the users experience will be negatively affected.
The Directive has been approved by the legal affairs committee, and will be voted on by the European Parliament in July or in September, when the lawmakers return from their summer break.
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