EU Commissioner Gunther Oettinger Admits: Sites Need Filters To Comply With Article 13

from the the-lies-come-out dept

EU Commissioner Gunther Oettinger -- well known for being a bit of a bigoted Luddite -- basically crafted the plan that became the EU Copyright Directive when he was the Commissioner for the "Digital Economy" (despite not knowing anything about it). As you may recall, for many months now, supporters of Article 13 (now Article 17) have insisted that it doesn't require filters. They would shout down anyone who pointed out that it clearly does require filters.

But now that it's passed the EU Parliament, the truth is coming out. Last week, we noted that France's culture minister admitted it required filters to comply (and that he wanted sites to start installing them as soon as possible). And now, Oettinger himself is admitting that filters are required under the Directive (translated via Google):

EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger , also does not believe that the CDU model will prevent the filters. "I am convinced that the guideline sets relatively clear guidelines," says Oettinger. "As things stand, upload filters can not be completely avoided."

What's truly incredible about all of this is just how vehement these guys all were about how the directive didn't require filters and how much they insisted that the complaints about Article 13 were all "disinformation" and "propaganda." Now the truth is coming out. The disinformation and propaganda had been coming from those who pushed for Article 13 in the first place. It's truly incredible that they basically have started admitting this just days after the Parliament's vote.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community. Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis. While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: article 13, article 17, copyright, eu, europe, gunther oettinger