EU Commission continues slow march towards innovation-killing link tax

Now that the EU Commission has opened a new consultation on ancillary copyright, they're looking to justify the need for the link tax. Read Ruth's take on Günther H. Oettinger's speech in Brussels this evening.

This evening in Brussels, EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Günther H. Oettinger, gave a speech that provides concerned Internet users with a window into the Commission’s plans for their controversial link tax scheme (AKA: ancillary copyright).

His presentation suggests the Commission will continue to pursue this flawed idea which OpenMedia and nearly 100 other civil liberties, business and expert groups, have been campaigning against with you at Save the Link.

Thousands of you responded to the previous consultation the Commission ran on this topic, firmly saying no to the idea that there should be a fee for the ‘privilege’ of linking to content.

In fact, every step of the way the public, and the elected European Parliament, have said no to these proposals. But the Commission are holding on by adding more steps on the path towards the link tax – new variations on the idea and ever more burdensome public consultations.

Just yesterday his colleague Andrus Ansip (Vice President of the European Commission) gave a speech about ‘Europe’s digital prospects’ in Brussels and his key theme was ‘we want to boost innovation.’

He began his speech focusing purely on industry, and then went on to talk about business and concluded by talking about economy… What’s missing? You. When he says ‘Europe’ he seems to forget that is made up of people – not just a small handful of entrenched business interests.

But the irony is that even when the Commission claims they are focused on business, this link tax won’t help innovation. We know that where these ideas happen already start-ups are harmed.

Take Javier Sarda, an innovator who got in touch with us last year explaining how the version of the link tax that passed in Spain destroyed his innovative news aggregator. He told us, “the moment this law was approved, we lost three-quarters of the customers.” Rather than helping a start up, this idea crushed his business.

Social media sites, news aggregators, news-feed readers, journalists: these businesses are all actually harmed by this concept. Not to mention our access to news and knowledge. There are only a few winners in the link tax: big, entrenched companies and collecting agencies.

This speech is an attempt to convince the public that this is a good idea. But it washes over the facts.

Thanks to your help we’ve been able to slow down these plans – and we know that if enough of us speak out against the link tax we can put an end to it once and for all. If you haven’t already, join our network at SaveTheLink.org, and stay tuned for help responding to the consultation.