Artists and publishers were today celebrating a major victory over Silicon Valley, after the European Parliament approved new copyright rules designed to help them secure a greater share of digital riches.

After years of fierce debate, MEPs approved updates to intellectual property laws that force so-called platforms such as Google, YouTube and Facebook to be responsible for policing infringements by their users.

The reforms signal a potentially significant shift in the economics of the web. As well as liability for infringement, tech giants could also face bills from copyright holders for carrying snippets in search results or social media feeds. They were previously protected as “mere conduits” of information.

The new regime threaten to widen the existing divide between Brussels and Silicon Valley after a series of multi-billion dollar fines and tax demands against Google, Amazon and Apple.

MEPs passed the “Copyright Directive” by 348 to 274, having rejected an earlier version of the proposals last summer. A separate vote on removing the most significant clause, the requirement for internet companies to block copyrighted material, failed by just five votes.