Sir Paul McCartney has accused tech giants of exploiting musicians for their own profit as the former Beatle pressed MEPs to vote through a controversial EU copyright law.

The European Parliament will vote on Thursday on proposals to update the EU directive on copyright, in what is expected to be a knife-edge vote.

The proposals will require websites to take more responsibility over videos and photos that infringe on copyright, and could also mean websites such as YouTube having to pay extra for hosting music videos.

They are supported by the music industry but opposed by campaigners who claim it will “break the internet as we know it”. Opponents say the rules will stifle free speech and burden even small companies with having to monitor every aspect of their sites.

In an open letter to the European Parliament, Sir Paul said: “We need an internet that is fair and sustainable for all. But today some user upload content platforms refuse to compensate artists and all music creators fairly for their work, while they exploit it for their own profit.”