On 20 June the European Parliament’s legal affairs committee (JURI) approved its report on the copyright directive, sending the controversial and dangerous copyright reform into its final stages of lawmaking.

Here is a statement from Raegan MacDonald, Mozilla’s Head of EU Public Policy:

“This is a sad day for the Internet in Europe. Lawmakers in the European Parliament have just voted for a new law that would effectively impose a universal monitoring obligation on users posting content online. As bad as that is, the Parliament’s vote would also introduce a ‘link tax’ that will undermine access to knowledge and the sharing of information in Europe.

It is especially disappointing that just a few weeks after the entry into force of the GDPR – a law that made Europe a global regulatory standard bearer – Parliamentarians have approved a law that will fundamentally damage the Internet in Europe, with global ramifications. But it’s not over yet – the final text still needs to be signed off by the Parliament plenary on 4 July. We call on Parliamentarians, and all those who care for an internet that fosters creativity and competition in Europe, to overturn these regressive provisions in July.”

Article 11 – where press publishers can demand a license fee for snippets of text online – passed by a slim majority of 13 to 12. The provision mandating upload filters for copyright content, Article 13, was adopted 15 to 10.

Mozilla will continue to fight for copyright that suits the 21st century and fosters creativity and competition online. We encourage anyone who shares these concerns to reach out to members of the European Parliament – you can call them directly via changecopyright.org, or tweet and email them at saveyourinternet.eu.